Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $63.20 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 87.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 600,371 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,370,116 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $63,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven 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 price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $119.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.68. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $294.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.