884,504 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,188,702 shares of the company’s stock after selling 884,504 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $172,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,573,754,000 after buying an additional 1,087,583 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after buying an additional 1,934,312 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $148.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.80 and a 1 year high of $156.92. The company has a market capitalization of $366.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.82.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,942,755. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total value of $1,539,939.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 102,014 shares of company stock valued at $13,608,779. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck reported positive Phase 2b results for efinopegdutide, an investigational weekly treatment for adults with MASH and stage F2 or F3 liver fibrosis. The findings add a potential new opportunity in liver disease, although the supplied report does not include detailed efficacy results. Article: Merck Announces Positive Results from Phase 2b Trial of Efinopegdutide
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has started the Phase 3 ENHANCE-3 trial of OHTUVAYRE for COPD maintenance treatment. Separately, the FDA granted priority review to sacituzumab tirumotecan for endometrial cancer, advancing two potential growth drivers. Article: Merck Starts ENHANCE 3 COPD Trial As Cancer Drug Review Nears
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s collaboration with Tempus AI is expected to contribute to a five-year partnership value of roughly $192.5 million, providing a data and AI-related research tie-up; the article does not detail the financial impact to Merck. Article: The AI Debt Bill Is Coming Due, But Biotech Has Revenue to Show for the Boom
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts describe Merck’s 2027 growth outlook as challenging, citing generic competition, weaker vaccine performance and slowing growth for Keytruda. These pressures could weigh on near-term results, despite the company’s expanding pipeline. Article: MRK’s 2027 Outlook Challenging, Long-Term Prospects Promising

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine.

Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.