Smith Salley Wealth Management Buys 5,469 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Smith Salley Wealth Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,935 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,469 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $585,192,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $114.04 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.68. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The firm has a market cap of $281.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 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. (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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.