Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,625,350 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 155,777 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.6% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $556,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $115.85 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $286.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

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

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.88.

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.