Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Cuts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 363,801 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,259 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tema Etfs LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.5% during the third quarter. Tema Etfs LLC now owns 78,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,608,000 after purchasing an additional 39,849 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $165,000. Corundum Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 9,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,691.7% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $110.52 on Monday. 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 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $112.90. The firm has a market cap of $274.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck is reported to be in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines in a deal that could value the biotech at roughly $30 billion — a move that would materially bolster Merck’s oncology pipeline and justify a strategic premium in the stock if completed. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts turned more bullish this week: Wolfe Research upgraded MRK to Outperform with a $135 target and Scotiabank reaffirmed a Buy — plus Citi and UBS published forecasts calling for strong upside. These upgrades/support raise positive sentiment and could attract buying interest. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare sector momentum and positive coverage on Merck’s growth profile (Zacks/MarketBeat pieces) are supporting the stock as investors rotate back into defensive, value-priced pharma names. This macro tailwind can amplify positive reactions to company-specific news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is underway and is expected to generate pipeline updates and potential M&A announcements across the sector; this adds event-driven volatility to MRK in the near term rather than a clear directional signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck publicly urged that U.S. childhood immunization schedule changes be grounded in comprehensive data after the CDC trimmed some recommendations — a policy debate that creates uncertainty around vaccine-related revenues but is not an immediate earnings shock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets (FT, Zacks) echoed the Revolution Medicines talks; until a deal is announced, takeover reports typically produce short-term swings as investors weigh strategic upside vs. deal risk and price. Read More.

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.