Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Sells 7,448 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,448 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,918,000 after acquiring an additional 359,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley raised 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $127.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $120.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.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 previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. 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. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approval of LIPFENDRA gives Merck its first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, opening a new revenue stream in cardiovascular care and strengthening its non-oncology portfolio. Reuters article on FDA approval
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted continued oncology pipeline progress, including FDA acceptance of multiple regulatory filings and Merck’s broader effort to offset the eventual 2028 Keytruda patent cliff. Seeking Alpha article on pipeline expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also noted that Lipfendra’s launch is expected soon and that the drug could become a major product over time, though sales will depend on uptake, pricing, and competition from existing cholesterol therapies. Zacks article on Lipfendra launch
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a rumor that Merck may be in a takeover battle for genomics company Personalis, but this appears speculative and is not confirmed. Yahoo Finance article on Personalis rumor

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.