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

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its Merck stake by 6.2% in Q4, buying 20,852 shares to hold 357,508 shares valued at about $37.63 million.
• Insiders, including CFO Caroline Litchfield and EVP Jennifer Zachary, sold large blocks last quarter — a total of 320,176 shares (~$38.28 million) — leaving insiders with just 0.13% ownership.
• Analysts collectively rate Merck a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $128.47, and several firms recently raised targets or upgraded the stock (e.g., RBC $142, Barclays $140).

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 357,508 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,852 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $37,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company's stock worth $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company's stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company's stock worth $17,444,000 after acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company's stock worth $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.47.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. This trade represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced a multi‑year, enterprise‑wide partnership with Google Cloud to deploy Gemini AI and advanced cloud infrastructure for drug discovery, manufacturing and operations — a strategic move that could improve R&D productivity and long‑term margins. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Merck won FDA Priority Review for KEYTRUDA regimens in muscle‑invasive bladder cancer — a potential near‑term upsid e for oncology revenue if approved, supporting key growth drivers beyond vaccines. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approval momentum: the company secured FDA approval for Idvynso (doravirine + islatravir) for HIV‑1 treatment, and is cited among defensive/counter‑cyclical stock picks — positives for investor sentiment and diversification of approved products. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Progress on M&A: the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino waiting period expired for Merck’s tender offer to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals, clearing an antitrust procedural hurdle and bringing the acquisition closer to closing — strategic but not immediately earnings‑material. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Vaccines headwinds: reports highlight a sharp slump in Gardasil sales in China and Japan, which pressures MRK’s vaccines revenue into the upcoming Q1 results and raises downside risk to top‑line guidance if the trend persists. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst expectations: several analyst notes expect a decline in Q1 earnings and flag that Merck may lack the near‑term drivers for an earnings beat — this raises the risk of downside surprise and explains short‑term selling pressure. Read More. Read More.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $111.83 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $118.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.88. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $276.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.26.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 4.92 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was 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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