Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,797,434 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,686 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $196,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after buying an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after buying an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $114.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $282.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.81 and a 200 day moving average of $100.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.