BCS Wealth Management Sells 15,991 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

BCS Wealth Management cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,965 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,991 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after acquiring an additional 24,576 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $119.71 on Wednesday. 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. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.91. The company has a market cap of $295.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business 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, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck said tulisokibart met its primary and key secondary endpoints in the Phase 3 ATLAS-UC induction study for moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, strengthening confidence in a potentially important new immunology asset. Merck’s Anti-TL1A Antibody Meets Goal in Ulcerative Colitis Study
• Positive Sentiment: The tulisokibart result adds to Merck’s recent pipeline momentum and gives investors another potential growth driver as the company looks to diversify sales away from Keytruda over time. Merck’s bowel disease drug meets main goal in late-stage trial
• Positive Sentiment: Merck also recently won FDA expansion approvals for KEYTRUDA/KEYTRUDA QLEX with WELIREG in kidney cancer and for CAPVAXIVE in higher-risk children and adolescents, reinforcing near-term commercial strength across multiple franchises. Merck (MRK) Wins FDA Expansions, Posts HIV Data, And Ends Lung Cancer Trial

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.