Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Position Raised by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,292 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,303 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,084,000 after buying an additional 567,900 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,362,780.08. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $114.17 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $282.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.