Nwam LLC Purchases 10,124 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Nwam LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 93.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,971 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,124 shares during the quarter. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Graney & King LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 400.0% during the second quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $149.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.78, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $133.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.88. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.58 and a 52-week high of $156.92.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.