HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,869,125 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 98,336 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $324,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $121.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.45. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $123.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 45.22%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.