Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

ABN Amro Investment Solutions lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,588 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in 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 during the period. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought 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.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:MRK opened at $121.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $123.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $108.35 and a 200-day moving average of $94.45.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.71.

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.