44 Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 14,315 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

44 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,722,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $131.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $131.74. The stock has a market cap of $323.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.19.

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 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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.