Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 777,516 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 252,136,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 777,516 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $21,161,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $121.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.