Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,895 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.6% of Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $27,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays assumed 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 on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.67 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $285.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

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.