Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 71.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 367,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 936,627 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $122.05 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $123.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.02. The company has a market capitalization of $302.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Bank of America upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.80.

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.