Bollard Group LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bollard Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 138,765 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,691 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% in the first quarter. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 93,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,255,000 after buying an additional 30,627 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after buying an additional 4,968 shares during the period. Keebeck Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management now owns 31,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,765,000 after buying an additional 4,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orleans Capital Management Corp LA purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $418,000. Hedge funds and other 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: Merck announced initial access plans for alimatravir, its investigational once-monthly oral HIV PrEP in Phase 3 development, and said it has signed voluntary licensing agreements covering 129 countries. That broad access strategy could support adoption in large international markets if the drug is approved. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck also issued a company release on the same alimatravir access plan, reinforcing that the program is moving forward and that it is trying to expand availability in regions that account for most new HIV diagnoses globally. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders also bought a high volume of Merck call options, which may reflect rising bullish speculation around the stock and the HIV pipeline, but it does not by itself change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Par Health launched the first generic version of Janumet XR in the U.S., which may pressure Merck’s diabetes-related sales and adds another competitive headwind for an established product. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $131.06 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $131.74. The stock has a market cap of $323.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.19. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly 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 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

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.