Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Arista Wealth Management LLC

Arista Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 39.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,176 shares during the period. Arista Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed 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 objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $120.27 on Thursday. 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. has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio 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.