MOR Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,136 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

MOR Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth 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 period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,012,530,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 985.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,969,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603,769 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $150.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $134.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.58 and a 52 week high of $156.92. The stock has a market cap of $370.99 billion, a PE ratio of 120.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $2,710,857.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,569,312.29. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.60.

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.