Heartland Bank & Trust Co Buys 8,547 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 106.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,589 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,547 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after buying an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,054,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $127.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.94. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share 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 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend 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.