Groupama Asset Managment Buys 49,541 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 832,605 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $69,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th 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 period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second 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. United Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% in the second quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 49,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,901,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.7% during the second quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. This trade represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $114.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $282.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.67 and its 200 day moving average is $100.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.