Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $114.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.34. The stock has a market cap of $282.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

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. 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 the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 46.70%.

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.