Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 548,945 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,568 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $46,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,094,088 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MRK opened at $119.24 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $122.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $107.55 and a 200 day moving average price 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

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.