Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 40,376 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,376 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $49,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the 2nd 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 stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.60.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,248.64. This trade represents a 50.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $149.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $133.03 and a 200 day moving average of $122.88. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.58 and a 1 year high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

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.