WINTON GROUP Ltd Has $8.72 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 117.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,900 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,046 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during 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 period. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $115.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.71. 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 issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

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.