Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Purchases New Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 135,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,370,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $115.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $286.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.