Rose Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 4,482 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Rose Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $576,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,012,530,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,983,000 after buying an additional 5,152,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 985.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,969,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,826,000 after buying an additional 3,603,769 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $150.37 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.58 and a 12 month high of $156.92. The company has a market capitalization of $370.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $142.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.60.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.