778,827 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Bought by Nykredit A S

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 778,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,079,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $151.85 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.63 billion, a PE ratio of 121.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.21. 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 posted its 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 firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 272.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,303. This represents a 24.35% 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 David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% 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 valued at $29,977,783 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.