Moors & Cabot Inc. Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Moors & Cabot Inc. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,907 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $115.35 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.02. The company has a market cap of $285.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.