Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $125.54 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,043,669 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,067 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $125,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after buying an additional 15,636 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,054,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $130.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.62. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.94.

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.