California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 110,513 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,835,612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110,513 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $461,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck reported that KEYTRUDA met the primary progression-free-survival endpoint in the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-C93 trial for advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. The result represents a statistically significant benefit over platinum chemotherapy and could support future regulatory filings, strengthening the company’s oncology pipeline. Merck Says KEYTRUDA Beat Chemotherapy in Phase 3 Endometrial Cancer Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Merck is expanding its growth opportunities beyond KEYTRUDA. A royalty-free licensing agreement will enable generic HIV-prevention treatment supply across 129 low- and middle-income countries, while U.S. approval of LIPFENDRA, described as the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor for LDL reduction, broadens its cardiovascular portfolio. Merck Expands HIV PrEP Access and Launches Oral Cholesterol Drug
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo maintained its Buy rating on MRK, signaling continued confidence in the company’s outlook despite near-term earnings pressure. Wells Fargo Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage firms collectively assigned Merck an average “Moderate Buy” rating, indicating constructive sentiment but not a unanimous expectation of strong upside. Merck Given Average Moderate Buy Rating by Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect Merck’s upcoming second-quarter earnings to decline, and previews indicate the company may lack the earnings and revenue momentum typically associated with a likely consensus beat. This could limit near-term gains ahead of the report. Merck Q2 Earnings Expected to Decline

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $131.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $325.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $135.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.