Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Abacus Wealth Partners LLC

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 64.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,037 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,913 shares during the period. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after acquiring an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE MRK opened at $111.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.37 and a 52 week high of $125.14. 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 stock has a market cap of $275.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.