World Investment Advisors Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Merck & Co. by 29.6% in Q4, adding 20,067 shares to hold 87,754 shares valued at about $9.24 million.
• Wall Street sentiment has turned more positive with upgrades from Wolfe Research, Deutsche Bank and UBS, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $128.18.
• Merck beat quarterly expectations with revenue of $16.29 billion and EPS of ($1.28) versus consensus ($1.47), and set FY2026 guidance of 5.04–5.16 EPS (consensus ≈5.15).

World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 87,754 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,067 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $113.21 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.91. The firm has a market cap of $279.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.18. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The business's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 209,258 shares of company stock worth $25,101,593 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.

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