HBW Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

HBW Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,208 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. TFR Capital LLC. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 46,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 37,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,267,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% in the first quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vantage Point Financial LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the first quarter. Vantage Point Financial LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $123.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $306.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $119.12 and its 200 day moving average is $116.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $130.29. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA expanded approval for Merck’s Keytruda, in combination with Pfizer’s Padcev, for use in muscle-invasive bladder cancer regardless of cisplatin eligibility, potentially expanding the market opportunity for one of Merck’s most important cancer drugs. FDA Expands MRK & PFE’s Keytruda-Padcev Combo Use in Bladder Cancer
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan, BMO Capital Markets, and Guggenheim all raised their price targets on Merck and maintained bullish ratings, signaling improved Wall Street confidence in MRK’s upside. Analyst price target updates
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighting Merck as a bargain and the stock’s recent attention in the S&P 500 focus list may be adding to investor optimism around the shares. Merck (MRK) Stock Looks Like A Bargain At This Price
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also discussion of Merck’s Januvia/Janumet franchise as a benchmark in a generic drug partnership story, but this appears to be more contextual than a direct new catalyst for MRK today. Cosmos Health Accelerates Prescription Medicine Strategy…
• Negative Sentiment: Retail chatter continues to focus on Merck’s looming Keytruda patent cliff, which remains a longer-term risk even as near-term news flow is positive. SLS Vs MLTX: Retail Traders Race To Pick Merck’s Next Biotech Buyout…

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.