TIAA Trust National Association Sells 16,354 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

TIAA Trust National Association lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 147,957 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,354 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after buying an additional 18,187 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after buying an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 3,329 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.5%

MRK stock opened at $123.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.