COFG Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 8,409 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

COFG Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 8,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $885,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price 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 research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $115.28 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $284.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.42 and a 200 day moving average of $111.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.