VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $79.56 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 619,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,559,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position 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 worth $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after purchasing an additional 359,356 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.0%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $150.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.58 and a 1-year high of $156.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.53. The company has a market capitalization of $370.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 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 Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 272.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $2,710,857.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,569,312.29. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.