Hilltop Holdings Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,215 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 buying an additional 5,152,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $131.06 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $131.74. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 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 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced initial access plans for alimatravir, its investigational once-monthly oral HIV PrEP in Phase 3 development, and said it has signed voluntary licensing agreements covering 129 countries. That broad access strategy could support adoption in large international markets if the drug is approved. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck also issued a company release on the same alimatravir access plan, reinforcing that the program is moving forward and that it is trying to expand availability in regions that account for most new HIV diagnoses globally. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders also bought a high volume of Merck call options, which may reflect rising bullish speculation around the stock and the HIV pipeline, but it does not by itself change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Par Health launched the first generic version of Janumet XR in the U.S., which may pressure Merck’s diabetes-related sales and adds another competitive headwind for an established product. Article Title

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.