Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV Sells 48,510 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Advisors Management Group cut its Merck stake by 95% in the second quarter, selling 48,510 shares and retaining 2,579 shares valued at approximately $331,000. Institutional investors collectively own 76.07% of Merck.
• Merck exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of negative $0.13 and revenue of $16.61 billion, up 5.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, equivalent to a 2.2% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $144.10, although Jefferies downgraded the stock to Hold and cited valuation and Keytruda patent-expiration risks.

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 95.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,579 shares of the company's stock after selling 48,510 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company's stock worth $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $152.43 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.58 and a 1-year high of $154.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $128.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.23. 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 cap of $376.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,303. This represents a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.10.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported that their personalized cancer therapy met key Phase 3 goals, improving recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival for high-risk melanoma patients when added to Keytruda. The result is the first major late-stage win for an mRNA cancer vaccine and strengthens the potential for regulatory approval and broader oncology applications. MRK/MRNA's Personalized Cancer Therapy Delivers First Phase III Win
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised their outlooks for MRK: Goldman Sachs increased its price target to $160 and kept a Buy rating, while BMO raised its target to $170 and UBS lifted its target to $175. Morgan Stanley also upgraded the shares to Overweight with a $179 target after the cancer-trial success.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors see Merck’s newer products, acquired assets and pipeline programs as a potential growth cushion against Keytruda’s eventual patent expiration. The company’s expanding portfolio could help diversify revenue beyond its flagship drug. Can Merck's New Drugs Offer Growth Cushion Ahead of Keytruda LOE?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options activity indicates heightened investor interest and potential volatility, but it does not by itself establish the direction of the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: RBC Capital Markets downgraded Merck to Sector Perform and set a $150 target, arguing that execution risks and the 2028 Keytruda loss of exclusivity are being underestimated. RBC said near-term catalysts are attractive, but the stock’s valuation leaves limited room for additional gains. Merck upgraded at Morgan Stanley after cancer trial win; RBC downgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies separately moved Merck from Strong Buy to Hold. The central concern is that the shares have already rallied substantially on the trial news, making the current valuation appear demanding relative to the remaining patent and execution risks.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.

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