Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $12.89 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,564 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,654 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $121.77 on Thursday. 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. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $123.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

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.