Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Purchases 5,428 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 183,564 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,428 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.4% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 160.5% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Barclays began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $111.36 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.21. The company has a market cap of $275.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.37 and a 52-week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.