LifePlan Financial LLC Buys New Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $117.18 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 44.57%. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. 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 46.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.