Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Has $13.27 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 117,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,448 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares during the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,543,000 after buying an additional 28,635 shares during the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 11,355 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,022,000 after acquiring an additional 320,143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $127.47 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $131.74. The firm has a market cap of $314.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approval of LIPFENDRA gives Merck its first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, opening a new revenue stream in cardiovascular care and strengthening its non-oncology portfolio. Reuters article on FDA approval
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted continued oncology pipeline progress, including FDA acceptance of multiple regulatory filings and Merck’s broader effort to offset the eventual 2028 Keytruda patent cliff. Seeking Alpha article on pipeline expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also noted that Lipfendra’s launch is expected soon and that the drug could become a major product over time, though sales will depend on uptake, pricing, and competition from existing cholesterol therapies. Zacks article on Lipfendra launch
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a rumor that Merck may be in a takeover battle for genomics company Personalis, but this appears speculative and is not confirmed. Yahoo Finance article on Personalis rumor

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.