Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,235 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,573,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,583 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,546,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,162,691,000 after purchasing an additional 701,249 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $2,710,857.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,569,312.29. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.75. 3,687,981 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,672,879. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.72 billion, a PE ratio of 113.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $142.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.01 and a 52 week high of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The company had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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 anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. CICC Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.36.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.