Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 416,488 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,341 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $43,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 441,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,472,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 97,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,313,000 after acquiring an additional 5,726 shares in the last quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 31,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,364,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $453,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in a lung cancer indication, a sign the program may move faster and expand Merck’s oncology growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and recent articles highlighted Merck’s newer drugs, pipeline assets, and M&A options as potential offsets to looming Keytruda patent expiration, reinforcing the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has also been drawing investor attention as a trending stock and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, suggesting market confidence remains relatively strong. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, which could provide an update on strategy but is not itself a major business catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed board nominees, pay, and auditor ratification at the annual meeting, which reduces governance uncertainty but is unlikely to move the stock much. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main longer-term concern remains Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity, which could pressure Merck’s biggest revenue driver if replacement products do not scale quickly enough. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $118.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $292.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $116.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.46. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14.

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 the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend 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.