Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Purchases 26,920 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 272,942 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,920 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $35,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after buying an additional 11,355 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,022,000 after buying an additional 320,143 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,578,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,931,000 after buying an additional 51,393 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,843,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,999,000 after buying an additional 224,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 410.5% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 705,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,255,000 after buying an additional 567,249 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares in the company, valued at $4,942,755. This represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $148.30 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.58 and a 1 year high of $156.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.78 and a 200-day moving average of $122.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 272.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.60.

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.