Procyon Advisors LLC Purchases 4,666 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,883 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,666 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after buying an additional 18,187 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was 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 approximately $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of MRK opened at $114.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $282.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. 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. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective 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 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.13.

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.