Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Buys 9,731 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 107.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,828 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,731 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% in the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 519,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,527,000 after buying an additional 44,028 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 71.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 5,488 shares during the last quarter. Bcwm LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bcwm LLC now owns 60,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 8,064 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 545,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,775,000 after acquiring an additional 291,559 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.35 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $285.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $115.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 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 Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.