State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $73.74 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 878,529 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,474 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $73,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $121.39 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $123.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.45.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 presently 46.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.71.

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

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by 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.