Narwhal Capital Management Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Narwhal Capital Management reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,872 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.9% of Narwhal Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after acquiring an additional 5,152,069 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Argus lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. CICC Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $135.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.90 billion, a PE ratio of 108.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.43. 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 12-month low of $77.58 and a 12-month high of $137.98.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

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

In related news, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.