Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC Has $4.13 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,954 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.6% of Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.38, for a total value of $788,799.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,272,395.06. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,603 shares of company stock worth $11,966,744. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $130.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $124.29 and a 200-day moving average of $119.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.58 and a 12 month high of $135.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.85 billion, a PE ratio of 104.58, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 272.00%.

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.