5,844 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Purchased by CFO Capital Management LLC

CFO Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $281.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $125.14. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid 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 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

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.