Apella Capital LLC Buys 22,436 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 152.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,137 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,436 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Keytruda plus Padcev for adults with cisplatin-ineligible resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, expanding Merck’s oncology franchise in Europe. European Commission Approves KEYTRUDA Plus Padcev
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved Keytruda and Keytruda Qlex, each combined with Gilead’s Trodelvy, as a first-line treatment for PD-L1-positive advanced triple-negative breast cancer, adding another growth opportunity for the drug. FDA Approves Keytruda and Trodelvy for TNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary has also been supportive, with CICC Research initiating coverage at outperform and a price target above the recent trading range, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock. Merck Coverage Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Other reports noted that competitor Gilead won EC approval to expand Trodelvy’s label in metastatic TNBC, which is relevant to Merck because Trodelvy is part of the newly approved Keytruda combination, but the net market impact is still unclear. Gilead Wins EC Approval to Expand Trodelvy’s Label
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analyst notes were mixed, including Citi’s hold rating and Scotiabank’s buy rating, suggesting the latest move is being driven more by product news than by a major change in analyst consensus. Citi Keeps Their Hold Rating on Merck & Company

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $125.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $309.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.23. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $125.96.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.