Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 87,754 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,067 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 209,258 shares of company stock worth $25,101,593 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $113.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $279.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $117.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.91. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 26.84%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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.