Generali Investments Management Co LLC Acquires 15,556 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Generali Investments Management Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,747 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,556 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.6% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,603 shares of company stock worth $11,966,744. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $130.72 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $322.85 billion, a PE ratio of 104.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $77.58 and a one year high of $135.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 4.77%.The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.56.

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.