Capital Planning Advisors LLC Sells 5,466 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Capital Planning Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 45.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,466 shares during the quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094,088 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.71.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $121.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $123.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 46.70%.

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.