Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 3,132,999 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA sold 3,132,999 shares of Merck in Q4, cutting its stake by 41.5% to 4,416,021 shares worth about $464.8 million (≈0.18% of the company).
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares (~$38.28 million) over the past three months, including EVP Jennifer Zachary's sale of 121,573 shares, leaving insiders with just 0.13% ownership.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 41.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,416,021 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,132,999 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.18% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $464,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Apollon Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 4,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,481,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 172,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,108,000 after purchasing an additional 11,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $121.41 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $119.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.65. The company has a market cap of $299.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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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