Tobam Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Tobam lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 47.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,843 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,884 shares during the quarter. Tobam’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094,088 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Guggenheim raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.71.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $121.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $301.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $123.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.54.

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 the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

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.