Evergreen Capital Management LLC Sells 69,731 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Evergreen Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,787 shares of the company's stock after selling 69,731 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $27,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company's stock worth $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,573,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,583 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company's stock worth $3,701,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company's stock worth $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported positive Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results for the personalized melanoma vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda. The treatment reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42% and also improved distant metastasis-free survival, supporting the long-term potential of the partnership’s oncology pipeline. Doctors call Moderna and Merck cancer vaccine data a major advancement
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Keytruda plus Padcev as a perioperative treatment for resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, regardless of patients’ cisplatin eligibility. The broader label expands the addressable market and represents the EU’s first approval of a PD-1 inhibitor combined with an antibody-drug conjugate in this setting. Merck wins EU approval for Keytruda plus Padcev
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite strong clinical results, the vaccine announcement triggered a “sell-the-news” reaction. The data largely met elevated Wall Street expectations after an earlier leak, limiting the immediate upside for MRK even though oncologists viewed the results as an important treatment advance. Merck and Moderna shares fall on cancer vaccine results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about valuation and Merck’s future revenue concentration in Keytruda ahead of its patent cliff. Analysts have also characterized the recent rally as leaving limited margin of safety, increasing the risk of profit-taking when news is merely in line with expectations. Merck rally leaves little margin of safety
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reduced its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.63 from $2.73 and its FY2027 estimate to $9.38 from $9.47. Separate previews also anticipate a year-over-year decline in quarterly earnings, adding near-term pressure to the shares. Merck earnings preview

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value 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 approximately $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $145.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $358.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.20, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.21. The stock's 50 day moving average is $146.98 and its 200 day moving average is $130.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.01 and a twelve month high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 272.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck's principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.