Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Trimmed by Curated Wealth Partners LLC

Curated Wealth Partners LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 89.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127,541 shares during the period. Curated Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,210,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,482 shares in the last quarter. Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $254,206,000. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12,130.3% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,068,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,806,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051,475 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,569,312.29. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 46,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $149.20. The stock had a trading volume of 4,239,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,591,892. The stock has a market cap of $368.10 billion, a PE ratio of 119.43, a P/E/G ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $144.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.01 and a one year high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 272.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Argus upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.