Campbell Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,866,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.7% of Campbell Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after buying an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after buying an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,181,000 after buying an additional 99,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,759,460.58. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $115.84 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $286.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 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 firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly 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 forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.81.

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.