Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Mariner LLC

Key Points

• Mariner LLC increased its stake in Merck by 1.4% in Q3 to 2,527,966 shares, holding about $212.1 million of the stock after buying an additional 35,579 shares.
• Company insiders, including EVPs Jennifer Zachary and Richard R. Deluca, sold large blocks of stock this quarter — insiders sold 320,176 shares worth $38.28 million in total — leaving insiders with just 0.09% ownership.
• Merck beat quarterly expectations (EPS $2.04 vs. $2.01; revenue $16.40B vs. $16.19B), set FY2026 guidance of $5.00–$5.15 EPS, and analysts raised targets (average price target ~$126.81, with several firms boosting targets into the $120–$140 range).

Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,527,966 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 35,579 shares during the period. Mariner LLC owned 0.10% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $212,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company's stock worth $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company's stock worth $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company's stock worth $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.35 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The stock's fifty day moving average is $115.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.02. The company has a market capitalization of $285.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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