Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 4,527 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,527 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.5% of Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 3,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Broderick Brian C lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 22,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Next Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. Little House Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 87.1% during the first quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 11,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $197,550,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approval of LIPFENDRA gives Merck its first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, opening a new revenue stream in cardiovascular care and strengthening its non-oncology portfolio. Reuters article on FDA approval
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted continued oncology pipeline progress, including FDA acceptance of multiple regulatory filings and Merck’s broader effort to offset the eventual 2028 Keytruda patent cliff. Seeking Alpha article on pipeline expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also noted that Lipfendra’s launch is expected soon and that the drug could become a major product over time, though sales will depend on uptake, pricing, and competition from existing cholesterol therapies. Zacks article on Lipfendra launch
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a rumor that Merck may be in a takeover battle for genomics company Personalis, but this appears speculative and is not confirmed. Yahoo Finance article on Personalis rumor

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE MRK opened at $127.47 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $131.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $120.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $314.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

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.