D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 4,366 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 572,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,366 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $68,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,731,018,000 after buying an additional 359,486 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $123.56 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $119.48 and a 200 day moving average of $116.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors 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 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.94.

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.