National Pension Service Has $437.90 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

National Pension Service increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,531,803 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 258,320 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.22% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $437,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $258,267,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $90.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.76 and a 200-day moving average of $82.19. The firm has a market cap of $225.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.