Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 140,743 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,545 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during 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. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $121.39 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $123.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.84. The stock has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.71.

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.