Denali Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

MRK stock opened at $121.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $109.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.14. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during 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 45.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.