Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,857 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,639 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in 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. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 797,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,291,000 after buying an additional 191,441 shares during the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $238,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 519,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,155,000 after acquiring an additional 8,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 16,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $110.52 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $112.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck is reported to be in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines in a deal that could value the biotech at roughly $30 billion — a move that would materially bolster Merck’s oncology pipeline and justify a strategic premium in the stock if completed. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts turned more bullish this week: Wolfe Research upgraded MRK to Outperform with a $135 target and Scotiabank reaffirmed a Buy — plus Citi and UBS published forecasts calling for strong upside. These upgrades/support raise positive sentiment and could attract buying interest. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare sector momentum and positive coverage on Merck’s growth profile (Zacks/MarketBeat pieces) are supporting the stock as investors rotate back into defensive, value-priced pharma names. This macro tailwind can amplify positive reactions to company-specific news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is underway and is expected to generate pipeline updates and potential M&A announcements across the sector; this adds event-driven volatility to MRK in the near term rather than a clear directional signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck publicly urged that U.S. childhood immunization schedule changes be grounded in comprehensive data after the CDC trimmed some recommendations — a policy debate that creates uncertainty around vaccine-related revenues but is not an immediate earnings shock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets (FT, Zacks) echoed the Revolution Medicines talks; until a deal is announced, takeover reports typically produce short-term swings as investors weigh strategic upside vs. deal risk and price. Read More.

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.