Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 317,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,861 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $38,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.72. 8,388,403 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,797,806. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29. The company has a market capitalization of $305.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

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.