884,504 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 42.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,188,702 shares of the company’s stock after selling 884,504 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $172,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 1st 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 263.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,702,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,778 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 worth $11,083,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $260,560,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $148.49 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.80 and a 1 year high of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $366.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $146.39 and a 200-day moving average of $127.82.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.74.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck reported positive Phase 2b results for efinopegdutide, an investigational weekly treatment for adults with MASH and stage F2 or F3 liver fibrosis. The findings add a potential new opportunity in liver disease, although the supplied report does not include detailed efficacy results. Article: Merck Announces Positive Results from Phase 2b Trial of Efinopegdutide
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has started the Phase 3 ENHANCE-3 trial of OHTUVAYRE for COPD maintenance treatment. Separately, the FDA granted priority review to sacituzumab tirumotecan for endometrial cancer, advancing two potential growth drivers. Article: Merck Starts ENHANCE 3 COPD Trial As Cancer Drug Review Nears
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s collaboration with Tempus AI is expected to contribute to a five-year partnership value of roughly $192.5 million, providing a data and AI-related research tie-up; the article does not detail the financial impact to Merck. Article: The AI Debt Bill Is Coming Due, But Biotech Has Revenue to Show for the Boom
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts describe Merck’s 2027 growth outlook as challenging, citing generic competition, weaker vaccine performance and slowing growth for Keytruda. These pressures could weigh on near-term results, despite the company’s expanding pipeline. Article: MRK’s 2027 Outlook Challenging, Long-Term Prospects Promising

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,014 shares of company stock worth $13,608,779. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine.

Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.