Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $6 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 37.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 49,866 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,336 shares during the period. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $123.72 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $130.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $118.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) 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 company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.72.

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.