Montag A & Associates Inc. Sells 3,916 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Montag A & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,916 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 worth $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,983,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $128.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $318.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $130.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.88. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

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.