Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Buys 68,594 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 285,565 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,594 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 363,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,544,000 after buying an additional 14,012 shares in the last quarter. Invested Advisors bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $203,000. Steinberganna Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $454,000. tru Independence LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the third quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 51,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 94,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on MRK to $130 and kept a “buy” rating, signaling meaningful upside and lending near-term buy-side conviction. UBS Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Merck
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Merck is in talks to acquire cancer biotech Revolution Medicines (FT/Reuters) have been interpreted as strategic M&A that could expand Merck’s oncology pipeline and revenue optionality. Merck in talks to buy Revolution Medicines
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades continue: Wolfe Research moved MRK from “peer perform” to “outperform” with a $135 target, reinforcing the bullish analyst momentum that supports higher valuations. Analyst upgrade coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target (to $110) but maintained a “neutral” rating — a modest tweak that offers limited directional guidance compared with the UBS/Wolfe moves. Citigroup Forecasts for Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst roundup and positive coverage pieces (e.g., Benzinga’s 10-analyst summary, Zacks growth-feature) are increasing attention on MRK but largely echo the same drivers: pipeline strength, strong cash flows and health-care sector tailwinds. Analysts share their views
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/public-health risk: Merck urged any U.S. childhood immunization schedule changes be science-led after the CDC trimmed some universally recommended shots — a development that could introduce uncertainty for vaccine uptake and revenue if recommendations shift. Merck urges science-led vaccine schedule

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $110.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $112.90. The firm has a market cap of $275.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.91%.

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.