Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 135,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,370,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $115.84 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.