Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 380,476 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,087 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $40,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,997,933,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,873,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,166,000 after purchasing an additional 805,201 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE MRK opened at $120.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $296.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $116.52 and a 200-day moving average of $112.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.