B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 11,777 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 443,208 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,777 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $56,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MBA Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the second quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 10,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the second quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 15,454 shares of the company's stock worth $1,985,000 after buying an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the second quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 54,875 shares of the company's stock worth $7,051,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% during the second quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 7,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the second quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 35,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,613,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $149.64 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $131.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $369.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.71, a P/E/G ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $77.58 and a one year high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 272.00%.

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.

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