Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,821,766 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,665,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $116.03 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $286.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.