Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by American Investment Services Inc.

American Investment Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,826 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,141 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.9% of American Investment Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. American Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Athena Investment Management lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the third quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 8,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Acorns Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after buying an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 2,525 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,753,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,177,000 after acquiring an additional 149,395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

MRK opened at $116.03 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.37. The company has a market cap of $286.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio 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.