LPL Financial LLC Has $374.30 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,555,998 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 183,939 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $374,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. High Note Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $119.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $116.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.68.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 (DPR) 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.