Boston Trust Walden Corp Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its Merck stake by 2.7% in the first quarter, selling 12,424 shares and ending with 453,194 shares valued at about $54.5 million.
• Merck remains heavily owned by institutions, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding about 76.07% of the stock; several large firms, including Vanguard and State Street, also added to their positions recently.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on MRK, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.83, even as some firms trimmed targets or adjusted ratings.

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,194 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,424 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $54,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock worth $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. CICC Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.2%

NYSE MRK opened at $129.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $130.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 95.77%.

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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