Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,075,449 shares of the company’s stock after selling 432,009 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $850,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’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. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.