Korea Investment CORP Sells 198,111 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,777,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 198,111 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $149,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crabel Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $569,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 6,625,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,066,000 after purchasing an additional 155,777 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $88,593,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.8% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 61.2% during the third quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,826,000 after buying an additional 12,788 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

MRK stock opened at $115.85 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.61. The company has a market cap of $286.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.88.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.