Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 7,385 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Morningstar Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,385 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MRK opened at $131.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $121.67 and its 200 day moving average is $117.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

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.