22,235 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Purchased by Campbell Capital Management Inc.

Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 22,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,866,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.7% of Campbell Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Barclays started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $286.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. The company’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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors 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 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.