UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $2.51 Billion Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,547,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 867,648 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,511,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 11,355 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,022,000 after acquiring an additional 320,143 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,578,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,931,000 after acquiring an additional 51,393 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,843,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,999,000 after acquiring an additional 224,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 410.5% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 705,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,255,000 after purchasing an additional 567,249 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $142.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.60.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $2,710,857.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,569,312.29. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $148.30 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $77.58 and a fifty-two week high of $156.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $131.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.41. The firm has a market cap of $365.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.64, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.19.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.