Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 792,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $83,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in a lung cancer indication, a sign the program may move faster and expand Merck’s oncology growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and recent articles highlighted Merck’s newer drugs, pipeline assets, and M&A options as potential offsets to looming Keytruda patent expiration, reinforcing the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has also been drawing investor attention as a trending stock and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, suggesting market confidence remains relatively strong. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, which could provide an update on strategy but is not itself a major business catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed board nominees, pay, and auditor ratification at the annual meeting, which reduces governance uncertainty but is unlikely to move the stock much. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main longer-term concern remains Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity, which could pressure Merck’s biggest revenue driver if replacement products do not scale quickly enough. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

View Our Latest Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $118.49 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $125.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.39 and a 200-day moving average of $111.46. The company has a market capitalization of $292.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.18. 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. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)

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.

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