Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Sells 11,635 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions reduced its Merck stake by 11.9% in the second quarter, selling 11,635 shares and retaining 86,089 shares valued at approximately $11.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 76.07% of Merck.
• Merck reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of $0.13 and revenue of $16.61 billion, up 5.1% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.66–$2.76.
• Merck declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, equivalent to a $3.40 annualized payout and a 2.3% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $144.10.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,089 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,635 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company's stock worth $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company's stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock worth $6,307,572,000 after acquiring an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,731,018,000 after acquiring an additional 359,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $3,997,933,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE MRK opened at $150.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $371.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.54, a P/E/G ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.19. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $128.81 and its 200-day moving average is $121.53. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $77.58 and a one year high of $154.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business 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%.Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

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

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,942,755. This trade represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.10.

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source