Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Tobam

Tobam cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 47.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,843 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,884 shares during the period. Tobam’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,084,000 after buying an additional 567,900 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $121.39 on Monday. 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 twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $123.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.