Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Has $1.03 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 46.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,436 shares during the period. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 279,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,488,000 after buying an additional 11,466 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,559,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,691,000 after buying an additional 787,181 shares during the last quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. now owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,674,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 745,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,597,000 after acquiring an additional 57,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 125.0% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 62,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,270,000 after purchasing an additional 34,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.88.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, 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 value of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,759,460.58. This trade represents a 13.95% 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.5%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $123.45 on Friday. The business 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 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 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.