CSM Advisors LLC Has $1.91 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

CSM Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,860 shares during the quarter. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

MRK stock opened at $115.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.42 and a 200-day moving average of $100.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.