Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 701,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,359 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $84,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $531,000. St. Louis Trust Co grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. St. Louis Trust Co now owns 16,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 130.7% in the 1st quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 798,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,881,000 after acquiring an additional 452,283 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 270,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,534,000 after acquiring an additional 41,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 138,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,692,000 after acquiring an additional 6,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $131.06 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $121.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.71. 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 company has a market capitalization of $323.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced initial access plans for alimatravir, its investigational once-monthly oral HIV PrEP in Phase 3 development, and said it has signed voluntary licensing agreements covering 129 countries. That broad access strategy could support adoption in large international markets if the drug is approved. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck also issued a company release on the same alimatravir access plan, reinforcing that the program is moving forward and that it is trying to expand availability in regions that account for most new HIV diagnoses globally. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders also bought a high volume of Merck call options, which may reflect rising bullish speculation around the stock and the HIV pipeline, but it does not by itself change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Par Health launched the first generic version of Janumet XR in the U.S., which may pressure Merck’s diabetes-related sales and adds another competitive headwind for an established product. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.94.

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.