Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.

Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,140 shares during the quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,084,000 after purchasing an additional 567,900 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MRK opened at $114.17 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $282.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.44.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

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.