GW&K Investment Management LLC Has $23.76 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,170 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Arrowroot Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 18,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.6%

NYSE MRK opened at $116.01 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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 is currently 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.