WealthPLAN Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

WealthPLAN Partners LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 44.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,747 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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 worth $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 5,152,069 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $128.87 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.29. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $117.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company 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 company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’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 forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

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.