Nwam LLC Acquires 10,124 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Nwam LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 93.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,971 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,124 shares during the period. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,012,530,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after buying an additional 5,152,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 985.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,969,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,826,000 after buying an additional 3,603,769 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of MRK opened at $149.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.58 and a 1 year high of $156.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 272.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. Insiders own 0.17% 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.