Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock: BDF Gestion Decreases Holdings

BDF Gestion cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,778 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.7% of BDF Gestion’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,573,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,583 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $2,710,857.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,569,312.29. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $144.62. 3,167,051 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,607,502. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.01 and a 52 week high of $156.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.31. The firm has a market cap of $356.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 272.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.92.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.