Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,630 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $122.05 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $123.33. The company has a market cap of $302.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.91.

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. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.