COFG Advisors LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

COFG Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $885,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. High Note Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE MRK opened at $115.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.42 and a 200-day moving average of $111.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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 return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 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.