190,066 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,979,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190,066 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $868,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the second quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 8,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 results and raised outlook: Merck reported adjusted earnings of $2.49 per share versus the $2.09 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $18.09 billion, ahead of estimates. Management raised its 2026 sales and adjusted-profit outlook, providing the main catalyst for the stock’s advance. Merck tops quarterly estimates and hikes profit outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Growth beyond Keytruda: Keytruda, including the newer Qlex formulation, delivered stronger-than-expected sales, while WINREVAIR continued to expand rapidly. Newer product launches are helping offset losses from generic competition and support Merck’s growth outlook. Merck Q3 earnings call highlights pipeline progress and raised outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline progress: Positive Phase 3 endometrial-cancer data for Keytruda and sacituzumab tirumotecan, along with FDA priority review for the latter, strengthens confidence in Merck’s oncology pipeline and its ability to address future revenue pressure. Merck Phase 3 endometrial cancer data and FDA review
• Positive Sentiment: Supportive analyst action: Guggenheim raised its price target to $171 and maintained a buy rating, indicating additional potential upside based on the earnings and pipeline outlook.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. HSBC increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $149.75 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.01 and a 1 year high of $156.92. The company has a market cap of $369.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.38, a PEG ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $146.90 and a 200 day moving average of $126.69. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.