Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,334,597 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,849 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $112,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after buying an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the second 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 period. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% in the second 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.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $123.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $305.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’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. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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