Becker Capital Management Inc. Has $25.12 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Becker Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,498 shares during the quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $25,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during 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. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after purchasing an additional 567,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. 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 research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.5%

NYSE:MRK opened at $123.45 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. 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 company has a market cap of $305.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 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 company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,583,278.39. This trade represents a 41.44% 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 Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.