Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,869,125 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,336 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $324,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.71.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, 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 sale, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $121.39 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $301.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $123.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

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.