Caprock Group LLC Invests $5.33 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 63,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,332,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. 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 position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after buying an additional 567,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 report on Friday, December 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $119.24 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $122.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $107.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.93. The company has a market cap of $295.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.28. 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 firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.