Clear Trail Advisors LLC Makes New $7.97 Million Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Clear Trail Advisors bought 75,671 shares of Merck (~$7.97 million) in Q4, making MRK about 1.8% of its portfolio and the firm's 16th-largest holding.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: CEO Robert Davis sold 47,434 shares (~$5.6M) and EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares (~$14.5M), with insiders disposing of 320,176 shares worth ~$38.3M in the past 90 days.
• Merck beat Q4 EPS expectations ($2.04 vs. $2.01) and set FY2026 guidance of $5.00–$5.15; several analysts raised targets (e.g., Wells Fargo to $150, Guggenheim to $140) and the stock carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target of $127.13 and a $0.85 quarterly dividend (2.9% yield).

Clear Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 75,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,965,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.8% of Clear Trail Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 14,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,203 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 11,502 shares of the company's stock worth $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $115.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $285.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The company's 50-day moving average is $115.94 and its 200 day moving average is $101.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

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.

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