Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Davis Investment Partners LLC

Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 73.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,985 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,761 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.6% of Davis Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Davis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $114.17 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $282.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.44. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

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.