PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,867,962 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,703 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $660,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 255.0% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 3,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Citizens Business Bank lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Business Bank now owns 44,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,506,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 16,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after buying an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Bank of America upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $121.39 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.