Brookstone Capital Management Buys 13,725 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,830 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,725 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $115.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.79 and its 200 day moving average is $113.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during 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 last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.