Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,211,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 214,818 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $338,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.10 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend 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.