Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Has $13.24 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,785 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,651 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,481,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 172,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,108,000 after acquiring an additional 11,622 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $121.41 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.48. The stock has a market cap of $300.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.26.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.59.

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.