Wealth Alliance LLC Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wealth Alliance LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 31.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,257 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,224 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the second quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $122.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $123.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $110.66 and a 200 day moving average of $95.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.80.

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.