Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 5,262 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,897 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,262 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $285,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 617.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 369.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 25,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,260,000 after acquiring an additional 19,818 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 14,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.25.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported takeover talks to buy cancer drug developer Revolution Medicines add potential strategic upside to Merck’s oncology pipeline and could be seen as an accretive deal if completed. Merck in talks to buy biotech Revolution Medicines, FT reports
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst moves lifted sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded MRK to outperform with a $135 target and UBS raised its target to $130 (buy), signaling meaningful upside in Street expectations. (Benzinga coverage) Analyst upgrades and price target changes
• Positive Sentiment: Merck initiated a Phase 3 trial (KANDLELIT-007) for calderasib (MK-1084) combined with KEYTRUDA in KRAS G12C NSCLC — a meaningful clinical advance that supports long-term oncology revenue potential. Merck Initiates Phase 3 KANDLELIT-007 Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Merck moved to complete its acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics, expanding its infectious-disease pipeline and near-term product/technology set. Merck to Complete Acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck urged that U.S. changes to the childhood immunization schedule be science-led after the CDC trimmed some universal recommendations—this underscores policy risk/uncertainty in vaccines but also Merck’s push for data-driven decisions. Merck urges science-led US vaccine schedule
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader healthcare sector strength and ETF inflows (Vanguard VHT) are supporting Merck as investors favor undervalued, defensive health names—this macro tailwind helps explain buying interest. Health care sector rally / VHT
• Neutral Sentiment: Media and TV mentions (e.g., Jim Cramer) and recent positive Zacks commentary add retail attention but are informational rather than catalytic. Cramer’s Stop Trading: Merck

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $110.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $275.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $112.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $99.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.