Vinva Investment Management Ltd Purchases 50,206 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 236,544 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,206 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring 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 approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over 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 insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $115.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.61. The company has a market capitalization of $286.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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.