11,009 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Purchased by Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC

Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2%

MRK stock opened at $114.42 on Thursday. 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 $282.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.34. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.