Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 297.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,806 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,078 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after buying an additional 18,187 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 3,329 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $119.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $295.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.92 and a 200 day moving average of $94.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $122.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors 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 yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% 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, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. This trade represents a 41.44% 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. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.