Level Four Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,331 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,321 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after buying an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after buying an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,168,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $121.42 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $300.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.