Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Bay Colony Advisors cut its Merck stake by 33.4% in the second quarter, selling 10,387 shares and retaining 20,685 shares valued at approximately $2.66 million. Institutional investors overall own 76.07% of Merck.
• Merck insiders sold 92,603 shares worth nearly $12 million over the past 90 days, including substantial sales by two executive vice presidents.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $134.56. Merck’s latest results beat earnings and revenue estimates, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share.

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,685 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,387 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company's stock worth $10,296,000 after acquiring an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company's stock worth $26,543,000 after acquiring an additional 28,635 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% in the fourth quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company's stock worth $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 11,355 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,022,000 after acquiring an additional 320,143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,603 shares of company stock valued at $11,966,744. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Barclays increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.56.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7%

MRK stock opened at $130.72 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.58 and a twelve month high of $135.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $322.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.58, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.19. The business's 50-day moving average price is $124.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 272.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source