9,052 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Acquired by Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC

Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 9,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859,990 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after acquiring an additional 249,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MRK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

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.