Park National Corp OH Purchases 17,678 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Park National Corp OH boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 129,003 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,678 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $114.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $281.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21. 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 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.94 and its 200-day moving average is $113.68.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.