Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. Sells 35,140 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,140 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 25,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 111,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,718,000 after buying an additional 63,950 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 82,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,662,000 after buying an additional 5,303 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 24,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $101,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $114.17 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.44. The firm has a market capitalization 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 current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. 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 issued 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 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.81.

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.