Heritage Wealth Advisors Purchases 24,697 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 614,097 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,697 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 2.3% of Heritage Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $51,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 48,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.8% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,996,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.3% during the third quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 14,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,650 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,310,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,900,000 after purchasing an additional 371,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crabel Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $569,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $115.85 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $286.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $114.20 and a 200-day moving average of $98.61. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

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.