KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 50.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,888 shares during the quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MRK has been the topic of several research reports. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.56.
Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%
Shares of MRK opened at $130.72 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.58 and a 1-year high of $135.05. The company has a market capitalization of $322.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.33.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 272.00%.
Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.
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 transaction of $788,799.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,272,395.06. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,603 shares of company stock worth $11,966,744. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.
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.
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