Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Has $503,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 60.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,378 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $114.17 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.81 and its 200-day moving average is $100.87. The company has a market capitalization of $282.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.