BXM Wealth LLC Sells 4,999 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

BXM Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 61.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,999 shares during the quarter. BXM Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $585,192,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $129.09 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $116.35 and its 200-day moving average is $114.66. The company has a market cap of $318.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 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. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $129.97.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio 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.