Procyon Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,883 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,666 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,496,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,335,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618,532 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.13.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at $9,825,356.20. This represents a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $114.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $115.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.75. The firm has a market cap of $282.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. 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%.

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.