Banco Santander S.A. Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 58.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 216,463 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after buying an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 3,329 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $123.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.27. The firm has a market cap of $305.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend 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%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last quarter. Company 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.