Natixis Advisors LLC Has $193.90 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck by 19.1% in Q3 to 2,310,247 shares, valued at about $193.9 million.
• Company insiders have sold 320,176 shares totaling roughly $38.28 million over the past 90 days, including large sales by EVPs Jennifer Zachary and Richard Deluca.
• Analysts give Merck an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $125.88; the company recently beat quarterly EPS, set FY2026 guidance of $5.00–$5.15, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 (2.9% yield).

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,310,247 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 371,039 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $193,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.88.

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 transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The stock has a market cap of $286.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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%.Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 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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