Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 347,684 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,074 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,362,780.08. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $121.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.84. The company has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $123.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.71.

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.