Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Sells 47,500 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,500 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,112 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $111.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $275.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.37 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

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.