E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 88,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,311,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,858,570,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,496,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,335,000 after buying an additional 3,618,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 16,532,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,363,480,000 after buying an additional 3,454,941 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

MRK opened at $115.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $285.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.09. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.