Tealwood Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,278 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

21 Mar 2026, 12:20 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

Tealwood Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,278 shares during the period. Tealwood Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.13.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MRK

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $114.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.65. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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