Journey Strategic Wealth LLC Acquires 5,972 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,118 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,972 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.5%

NYSE:MRK opened at $123.45 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.27. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

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.