Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,738 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,849 shares during the quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

MRK stock opened at $119.24 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $122.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $107.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.