Invesco Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.80% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $1,665,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $116.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $286.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $115.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.