Inlet Private Wealth LLC Decreases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Inlet Private Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,106 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.7% of Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,496,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,335,000 after buying an additional 3,618,532 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after buying an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after buying an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,937,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,896,000 after buying an additional 2,277,088 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $120.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.99 and its 200 day moving average is $103.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. The firm’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. Research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.