Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 307,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,828,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 5,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 36,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,857,000 after purchasing an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit X LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $117.18 on Tuesday. 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 50-day moving average of $114.42 and a 200-day moving average of $98.93. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $289.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.