Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC Acquires 5,997 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,515 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,997 shares during the quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value 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. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

MRK stock opened at $121.53 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $123.33. The company has a market capitalization of $301.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.71.

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.