Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 142,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,983 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. This trade represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% 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 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned 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 “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.0%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $119.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 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. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $122.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.