Spartan Planning & Wealth Management Acquires Shares of 4,783 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 192.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,496,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,335,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618,532 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $114.17 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.81 and a 200-day moving average of $100.87. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The stock has a market cap of $282.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% 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 valued at $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.13.

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.