New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,486 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Graney & King LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $1,965,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $148.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $131.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.88 billion, a PE ratio of 118.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.58 and a fifty-two week high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 272.00%.

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.