<div id="readability-page-1"><p>North Dallas Bank &amp; Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $919,000.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li> Dividend Stocks for 2026: Where to Invest as the Market Cools</li></ul><p>Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock worth $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter.  Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company's stock worth $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter.  DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $2,889,340,000.  Norges Bank bought a new stake in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,858,570,000.  Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company's stock worth $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. </p><h2>Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades</h2><p>A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings  restated a &#34;hold (c)&#34; rating on shares of Merck &amp; Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a &#34;sector outperform&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo &amp; Company upgraded Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating to an &#34;overweight&#34; rating and increased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued  a Hold rating and one  has issued  a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck &amp; Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and an average price target of $107.50.</p><ul><li>HIMS Has Been a Roller Coaster Ride. Should Investors Hop On?</li></ul><p><b>Get Our Latest Report on Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</b></p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%</h2><p>MRK opened at $100.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.10 and a 200 day moving average of $85.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.84. The firm has a market cap of $249.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. </p><ul><li>Why GRAIL Stock Could Be Biotech’s Next Big Breakout</li></ul><p>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS.  As a group, research analysts forecast that  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Increases Dividend</h2><p>The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from Merck &amp; Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck &amp; Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio  is 42.80%. </p><h2>Insider Buying and Selling</h2><p>In other Merck &amp; Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders. </p><h2>About Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</h2> (Free Report)<p>Merck &amp; Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</li><li>What Are Dividend Challengers?</li><li>Disney's $1 Billion Deal Brings Its Magic to OpenAI</li><li>With Risk Tolerance, One Size Does Not Fit All</li><li>Why Amazon Could Be a $300 Stock Within Weeks</li><li>Stock Dividend Cuts Happen Are You Ready?</li><li>Adobe Gets Post-Earnings Lift: Long-Term Outlook Favors Upside</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Merck &amp; Co., Inc., you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merck &amp; Co., Inc. wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Merck &amp; Co., Inc. currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. invested $919,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. during Q2. Analysts have mixed ratings on Merck, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $107.50. Merck's stock opened at $100.33, with a market cap of $249.02 billion. The company reported Q3 earnings of $2.58 per share, beating estimates, and increased its dividend.</p>

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. Invests $919,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK