ABC Arbitrage SA Buys Shares of 11,779 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 12,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.3% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 190,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,982,000 after purchasing an additional 26,639 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 128,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,771,000 after buying an additional 8,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised 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. Citigroup upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.93.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,825,356.20. This represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $119.24 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $107.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.93. The stock has a market cap of $295.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.28. 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. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $122.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

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.