8,110 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Worth Asset Management LLC

Worth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 196.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,235 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,110 shares during the quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Matrix Trust Co raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 25,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 9,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Weaver Consulting Group lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the third quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 4,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total value of $2,710,857.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,569,312.29. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $143.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,348,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,652,900. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.76. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.01 and a 52-week high of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $353.09 billion, a PE ratio of 114.53, a P/E/G ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 272.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Daiwa Securities Group raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.80.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.