Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,799 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,691 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.2% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after buying an additional 7,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,181,000 after buying an additional 99,074 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $286.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at $9,825,356.20. This represents a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.