Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Sells 10,436 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,436 shares during the quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $123.45 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $305.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

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.