Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,630 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $122.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $110.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,362,780.08. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.80.

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.