Gibbs Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 147.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,506 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,447 shares during the quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 23,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $130.57 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $131.74. The company has a market capitalization of $322.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $121.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

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 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

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.