Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,055 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,723 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $33,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 585,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,748,000 after purchasing an additional 27,439 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 7,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors now owns 34,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after buying an additional 9,907 shares during the period. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 8,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $129.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $319.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.19. 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. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $130.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

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.