Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 5,303 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,292 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,303 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $114.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.65. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $282.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 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.