Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,164,526 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,629,828 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,017,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,181,000 after purchasing an additional 99,074 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,866,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck said the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for calderasib in combination with Keytruda for certain newly diagnosed metastatic KRAS G12C-mutant non-small cell lung cancer patients, which may speed development and improve the drug’s commercial outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck presented five-year data for their melanoma combination therapy, showing a 49% reduction in recurrence or death risk versus Keytruda alone, reinforcing confidence in Merck’s oncology pipeline and Keytruda’s franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted possible new EU approval momentum for Keytruda, which would expand the drug’s reach outside the U.S. and support future revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced a quarterly dividend, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile and signaling financial stability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck is also strengthening its capital structure with a notes offering, which may improve liquidity and financial flexibility. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference, a routine investor event that could provide updates but does not by itself change fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer noting that Merck’s cancer dominance has been challenged by J&J is more of a competitive observation than a direct catalyst, but it underscores pressure in oncology. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters reported Merck is discussing whether its COVID antiviral molnupiravir could be used in the Ebola response; this is potentially meaningful, but still exploratory. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.43 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.