Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Merck stake by 7.3% in Q1, selling 372,776 shares and leaving it with 4,709,942 shares valued at about $566.6 million.
• Merck is getting a boost from positive catalyst news, including FDA expansion of Keytruda with Padcev for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, which could widen the drug’s market opportunity.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with several analysts raising price targets and Merck reporting a better-than-expected quarter, including revenue of $16.29 billion and EPS that beat estimates.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,709,942 shares of the company's stock after selling 372,776 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $566,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company's stock worth $2,590,000 after buying an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company's stock worth $3,054,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 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 expanded approval for Merck’s Keytruda, in combination with Pfizer’s Padcev, for use in muscle-invasive bladder cancer regardless of cisplatin eligibility, potentially expanding the market opportunity for one of Merck’s most important cancer drugs. FDA Expands MRK & PFE's Keytruda-Padcev Combo Use in Bladder Cancer
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan, BMO Capital Markets, and Guggenheim all raised their price targets on Merck and maintained bullish ratings, signaling improved Wall Street confidence in MRK’s upside. Analyst price target updates
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighting Merck as a bargain and the stock’s recent attention in the S&P 500 focus list may be adding to investor optimism around the shares. Merck (MRK) Stock Looks Like A Bargain At This Price
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also discussion of Merck’s Januvia/Janumet franchise as a benchmark in a generic drug partnership story, but this appears to be more contextual than a direct new catalyst for MRK today. Cosmos Health Accelerates Prescription Medicine Strategy...
• Negative Sentiment: Retail chatter continues to focus on Merck’s looming Keytruda patent cliff, which remains a longer-term risk even as near-term news flow is positive. SLS Vs MLTX: Retail Traders Race To Pick Merck’s Next Biotech Buyout...

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $123.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $119.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.29.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank raised 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 report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.94.

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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