Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $24.19 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 288,211 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,876 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $24,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 8,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $123.45 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.93 and a 200-day moving average of $97.49. The company has a market cap of $305.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 44.57%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,787,865.12. This trade represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.