Prudential PLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Prudential PLC trimmed its Merck stake by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 29,087 shares and leaving it with 380,476 shares worth about $40 million.
• Merck continues to draw strong institutional interest, with several other hedge funds adding to or initiating positions; overall, 76.07% of the stock is held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on Merck, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a $128.18 target price, while the company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and reiterated FY2026 EPS guidance of 5.04 to 5.16.

Prudential PLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 380,476 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,087 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $40,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company's stock worth $1,665,585,000 after buying an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company's stock worth $1,336,877,000 after buying an additional 2,735,459 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $120.23 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $116.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $296.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

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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