GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,208 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,513 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 255.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 3,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Business Bank boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Business Bank now owns 44,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,506,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 16,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK 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 50-day moving average price of $108.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently 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.