Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Invests $88.59 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,055,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,593,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.2% of Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.85 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $114.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.51. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $286.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 46.70%.

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.