Spartan Planning & Wealth Management Acquires Shares of 4,783 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the third 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 period. Caxton Associates LLP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $114.17 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $282.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.87.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. 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.