LifePlan Financial LLC Invests $595,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $25,828,000. Claret Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.5% in the 3rd quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 113,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,523,000 after purchasing an additional 61,285 shares in the last quarter. Winthrop Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Winthrop Capital Management LLC now owns 13,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,134,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,181,000 after purchasing an additional 151,397 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,923,000 after buying an additional 1,156,112 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.88.

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

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $117.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $289.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.93. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.