CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Acquires New Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 345,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,963,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $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 stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $114.42 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given 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 yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.81.

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.