Washington Trust Bank Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Washington Trust Bank decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 114,877 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,715 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.0% of Washington Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,731,018,000 after buying an additional 359,486 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $1,965,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8%

MRK opened at $148.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.88 billion, a PE ratio of 118.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $131.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.58 and a 12-month high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 272.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.60.

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.