Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 10,874 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 62.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,421 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,874 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its holdings 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 valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased 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 purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased 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. Guggenheim raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $120.86 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $117.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.67. 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 has a market cap of $298.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.26. 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 posted its earnings results 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. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.