Crabel Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 6,783 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Crabel Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $1,168,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $115.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.61. The company has a market cap of $286.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.88.

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.