Triglav Investments D.O.O. Buys 57,869 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Triglav Investments D.O.O. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 42.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,688 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,869 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.6% of Triglav Investments D.O.O.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Triglav Investments D.O.O.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.72.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $123.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $118.83 and a 200-day moving average of $116.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $130.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.