Ingalls & Snyder LLC Sells 6,314 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Ingalls & Snyder LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 225,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,314 shares during the quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 70.4% in the third quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 5,997 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,181,000 after buying an additional 99,074 shares during the period. Holistic Financial Partners increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 3,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division now owns 14,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 88.3% in the third quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

MRK stock opened at $121.53 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. 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. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value 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 trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.