Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 9,824 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,719,450 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,824 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $180,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. LeClair Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. LeClair Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,555,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,304,000 after purchasing an additional 183,939 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 370,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,455,000 after purchasing an additional 124,202 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 943.3% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 905,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,344,000 after purchasing an additional 818,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 469,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,408,000 after purchasing an additional 93,446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $119.39 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $116.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.68. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

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.