E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Purchases Shares of 88,457 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 88,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,311,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE MRK opened at $115.65 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $285.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.09.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,759,460.58. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.