Texas Yale Capital Corp. Has $4.83 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Texas Yale Capital Corp. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,483 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,600 shares during the quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upped 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $121.39 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $123.33. The company has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’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. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

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

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.