Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 40,319 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 239,973 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,319 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $20,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 251.8% in the 2nd quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 11,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 8,548 shares during the last quarter. Nordwand Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4,772.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nordwand Advisors LLC now owns 44,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,552,000 after acquiring an additional 43,951 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 61.8% in the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 28,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,291,000 after acquiring an additional 11,054 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company 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, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

MRK stock opened at $115.84 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $286.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.