Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases 17,526 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Proficio Capital Partners increased its Merck stake by 93.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 17,526 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 36,360 shares valued at approximately $4.67 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.07% of Merck.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 15 Buy ratings and eight Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $147.60. Several firms recently raised their targets to between $155 and $180.
• Merck exceeded quarterly revenue and adjusted EPS expectations, while reporting 5.1% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, although insiders have sold roughly $30 million in stock over the past 90 days.

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 93.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,360 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,526 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% in the fourth quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company's stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 11,355 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,022,000 after purchasing an additional 320,143 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,578,024 shares of the company's stock worth $331,931,000 after buying an additional 51,393 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,843,042 shares of the company's stock worth $193,999,000 after buying an additional 224,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,470,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.60.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $148.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.58 and a 1-year high of $156.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $132.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source