Park National Corp OH Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 135.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 111,325 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,950 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 49,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,901,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 3,151,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,492,000 after buying an additional 536,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFP Retirement Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the second quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 7,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

MRK opened at $114.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 46.70%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,787,865.12. This trade represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

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.