New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Purchases 8,900 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,486 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. High Note Wealth LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. CICC Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $148.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $365.88 billion, a PE ratio of 118.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $131.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $77.58 and a one year high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 272.00%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares in the company, valued at $4,942,755. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.