SageView Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 95.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 45,696 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,285 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $117.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.14. The company has a market cap of $289.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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 year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was 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 directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

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.