Heritage Wealth Advisors Acquires 24,697 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Merck by 4.2%, buying an additional 24,697 shares to hold 614,097 shares worth about $51.54 million, representing 2.3% of the firm's holdings and its 14th-largest position.
• Analysts give Merck a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $125.88; several banks have recently raised targets (RBC $142, Citi/Cantor/BoA/Scotiabank near $120) while the stock trades around $115.85 (market cap ~$286.4B, P/E ~15.9).
• Merck beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.04 vs. $2.01; revenue $16.40B vs. $16.19B), set FY2026 guidance of $5.00–$5.15 EPS, announced a $0.85 quarterly dividend (2.9% yield), and has seen notable insider selling (~320,176 shares sold in the last three months, including CEO and EVP transactions).

Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 614,097 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,697 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.3% of Heritage Wealth Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Heritage Wealth Advisors' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $51,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 48,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,031,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.8% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 47,615 shares of the company's stock worth $3,996,000 after buying an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 14,621 shares of the company's stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,310,247 shares of the company's stock worth $193,900,000 after acquiring an additional 371,039 shares during the period. Finally, Crabel Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $569,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective 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 equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.85 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.20 and a 200-day moving average of $98.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 46.70%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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