Payden & Rygel Acquires 194,200 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Payden & Rygel lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5,234.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 197,910 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 194,200 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. 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 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2%

MRK opened at $122.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $302.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $110.66 and its 200 day moving average is $96.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. 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 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.80.

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.