Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors bought a new position of 307,732 shares in Merck (~$25.8M) during Q3, and institutional investors/hedge funds now own 76.07% of the stock.
• Merck beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.04 versus $2.01 and revenue of $16.4B, set FY2026 EPS guidance of 5.00–5.15, and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" analyst rating with a $125.88 target.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share (annualized $3.40, yield 2.9%, ex-dividend March 16), while insiders sold about 320,176 shares (~$38.3M) last quarter, leaving insiders with 0.09% ownership.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 307,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,828,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the second quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 5,591 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 36,085 shares of the company's stock worth $2,857,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit X LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.5% during the second quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $117.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $289.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $114.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. 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. 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.

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