Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Cut by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,845,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,073 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $222,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $130.86 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.94. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $132.53. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $323.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

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.