Avanza Fonder AB Purchases 25,344 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Avanza Fonder AB increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 289,720 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,344 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.8% of Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 13,285 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $115.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.09. 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 market cap of $285.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm 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 business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.