Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 135.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,325 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 63,950 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted 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 acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $114.17 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The stock has a market cap of $282.28 billion, a P/E 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 results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

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.