Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Sells 18,245 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 46.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,760 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,245 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during 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 during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.2%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $117.18 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.93. 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 firm has a market cap of $289.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.