LSV Asset Management Has $444.77 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,299,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,163 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.0% of LSV Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. LSV Asset Management owned 0.21% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $444,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $119.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $122.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.93.

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

In other news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% 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.