LFG Wealth Partners LLC Invests $1.03 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

LFG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 9,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,728,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,480,000 after purchasing an additional 208,042 shares during the period. Trustco Bank Corp N Y raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Trustco Bank Corp N Y now owns 9,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Tamar Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. TritonPoint Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $716,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 385,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,618,000 after buying an additional 66,115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. The stock has a market cap of $284.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.38. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

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.