Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 190,066 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,979,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190,066 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $868,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after buying an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 263.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,702,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,334,000 after buying an additional 1,959,778 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $260,560,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.08.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total value of $2,710,857.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,569,312.29. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 results and raised outlook: Merck reported adjusted earnings of $2.49 per share versus the $2.09 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $18.09 billion, ahead of estimates. Management raised its 2026 sales and adjusted-profit outlook, providing the main catalyst for the stock’s advance. Merck tops quarterly estimates and hikes profit outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Growth beyond Keytruda: Keytruda, including the newer Qlex formulation, delivered stronger-than-expected sales, while WINREVAIR continued to expand rapidly. Newer product launches are helping offset losses from generic competition and support Merck’s growth outlook. Merck Q3 earnings call highlights pipeline progress and raised outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline progress: Positive Phase 3 endometrial-cancer data for Keytruda and sacituzumab tirumotecan, along with FDA priority review for the latter, strengthens confidence in Merck’s oncology pipeline and its ability to address future revenue pressure. Merck Phase 3 endometrial cancer data and FDA review
• Positive Sentiment: Supportive analyst action: Guggenheim raised its price target to $171 and maintained a buy rating, indicating additional potential upside based on the earnings and pipeline outlook.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $149.75 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.01 and a 52-week high of $156.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $146.90 and a 200 day moving average of $126.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.46 billion, a PE ratio of 154.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.