Midwest Trust Co Sells 19,353 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Midwest Trust Co lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 747,618 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,353 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.1% of Midwest Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $89,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 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 Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $123.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,388,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,797,806. The stock 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $118.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during 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%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.