Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 402,774 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,100 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $33,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after buying an additional 567,900 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $119.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $295.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $107.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.93. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $122.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.93.

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.