646,011 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Bought by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 646,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,220,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094,088 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $115.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $285.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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 expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.