First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,011,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,130 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.20% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $420,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $1,168,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $115.85 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The stock has a market cap of $286.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.51.

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 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 analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.