Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 346,437 shares of the company’s stock after selling 215,105 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $121.39 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $123.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $108.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

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.