Triglav Investments D.O.O. Buys 57,869 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Triglav Investments D.O.O. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 42.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,688 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 57,869 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.6% of Triglav Investments D.O.O.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Triglav Investments D.O.O.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,054,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.72.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $123.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $130.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $118.83 and a 200 day moving average of $116.36. The company has a market cap of $305.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.77%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.