Conning Inc. Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Conning Inc. trimmed its Merck stake by 5.7% in Q1, selling 19,946 shares and leaving it with 333,031 shares valued at about $40.1 million.
• Merck received a major boost as the FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX with Padcev for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, potentially expanding revenue from its oncology franchise.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive, with several analysts lifting price targets and Merck continuing to trade near its 12-month high, while investors still weigh valuation and long-term KEYTRUDA patent-expiration risk.

Conning Inc. cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 333,031 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,946 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.3% of Conning Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $40,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,731,018,000 after buying an additional 359,486 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $123.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $305.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29. The business's 50-day moving average price is $118.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company'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. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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