Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Lessened by Prospector Partners LLC

Prospector Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 157,282 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,521 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.6% of Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $121.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $123.33. The firm has a market cap of $302.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

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.