State of Wisconsin Investment Board Sells 106,714 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

State of Wisconsin Investment Board trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,294,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106,714 shares during the quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $136,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

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.