AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 25,252 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,274,506 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,252 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.0% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned about 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $153,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $114.04 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $115.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.68.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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