Nykredit A S Takes $100.08 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 778,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,079,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $1,012,530,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after buying an additional 5,152,069 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 985.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,969,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,826,000 after buying an additional 3,603,769 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. CICC Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE MRK opened at $151.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.11. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.58 and a twelve month high of $156.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $374.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.48, a PEG ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.21.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 272.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $2,710,857.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,569,312.29. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.