Inlet Private Wealth LLC Sells 5,106 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Inlet Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 69,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,106 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.7% of Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 192.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,496,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,335,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618,532 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.6% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,937,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,088 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE MRK opened at $120.86 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.67. The stock has a market cap of $298.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.26. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during 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 44.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. This trade represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.59.

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.