Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Raleigh Capital Management Inc.

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 112.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,466 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,065 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $120.86 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $117.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.67. The firm has a market cap of $298.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.59.

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.