Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,215 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after acquiring an additional 5,152,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MRK opened at $131.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $323.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced initial access plans for alimatravir, its investigational once-monthly oral HIV PrEP in Phase 3 development, and said it has signed voluntary licensing agreements covering 129 countries. That broad access strategy could support adoption in large international markets if the drug is approved. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck also issued a company release on the same alimatravir access plan, reinforcing that the program is moving forward and that it is trying to expand availability in regions that account for most new HIV diagnoses globally. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders also bought a high volume of Merck call options, which may reflect rising bullish speculation around the stock and the HIV pipeline, but it does not by itself change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Par Health launched the first generic version of Janumet XR in the U.S., which may pressure Merck’s diabetes-related sales and adds another competitive headwind for an established product. Article Title

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.