Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Hillsdale Investment Management cut its Merck stake by 50.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 29,260 shares and leaving it with 29,131 shares valued at about $3.07 million.
• Several other institutional investors adjusted their positions in Merck, and hedge funds and other institutions now own about 76.07% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still constructive overall: Merck has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $128.18, while the company also faces longer-term concern over Keytruda patent expiration despite recent positive pipeline news.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 50.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,131 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,260 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company's stock worth $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company's stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% during the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company's stock worth $29,181,000 after purchasing an additional 99,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,866,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.18.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in a lung cancer indication, a sign the program may move faster and expand Merck’s oncology growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and recent articles highlighted Merck’s newer drugs, pipeline assets, and M&A options as potential offsets to looming Keytruda patent expiration, reinforcing the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has also been drawing investor attention as a trending stock and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, suggesting market confidence remains relatively strong. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, which could provide an update on strategy but is not itself a major business catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed board nominees, pay, and auditor ratification at the annual meeting, which reduces governance uncertainty but is unlikely to move the stock much. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main longer-term concern remains Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity, which could pressure Merck’s biggest revenue driver if replacement products do not scale quickly enough. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $118.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $292.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.39 and a 200 day moving average of $111.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.77%.

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.

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