Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Buys 68,594 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 31.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285,565 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,594 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 617.0% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 369.8% in the first quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 25,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 19,818 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 14,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on MRK to $130 and kept a “buy” rating, signaling meaningful upside and lending near-term buy-side conviction. UBS Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Merck
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Merck is in talks to acquire cancer biotech Revolution Medicines (FT/Reuters) have been interpreted as strategic M&A that could expand Merck’s oncology pipeline and revenue optionality. Merck in talks to buy Revolution Medicines
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades continue: Wolfe Research moved MRK from “peer perform” to “outperform” with a $135 target, reinforcing the bullish analyst momentum that supports higher valuations. Analyst upgrade coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target (to $110) but maintained a “neutral” rating — a modest tweak that offers limited directional guidance compared with the UBS/Wolfe moves. Citigroup Forecasts for Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst roundup and positive coverage pieces (e.g., Benzinga’s 10-analyst summary, Zacks growth-feature) are increasing attention on MRK but largely echo the same drivers: pipeline strength, strong cash flows and health-care sector tailwinds. Analysts share their views
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/public-health risk: Merck urged any U.S. childhood immunization schedule changes be science-led after the CDC trimmed some universally recommended shots — a development that could introduce uncertainty for vaccine uptake and revenue if recommendations shift. Merck urges science-led vaccine schedule

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $110.91 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $112.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.25.

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.