Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Coldstream Capital Management Inc.

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,366 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $11,370,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $159,973,000. Stance Capital LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 16,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the third quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boyar Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boyar Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.84 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $286.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The business’s revenue 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. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

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.