WINTON GROUP Ltd Has $8.72 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 117.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 103,900 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,046 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were 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. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.85 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. The business’s revenue 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. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

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.