Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 297.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,806 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,078 shares during the quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,583,278.39. This trade represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:MRK opened at $119.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $122.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.93.

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.