Forsta AP Fonden Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden cut its Merck stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 39,100 shares and leaving it with 792,700 shares valued at about $83.4 million.
• Merck’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of -$1.28 versus the -$1.47 consensus and revenue of $16.29 billion topping estimates. The company also raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to $5.04-$5.16.
• Recent news around Merck has been mostly positive, including the FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy designation for calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in lung cancer. Investors are also watching the longer-term risk from Keytruda’s patent expiration, which could pressure Merck’s biggest revenue driver.

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 792,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $83,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company's stock worth $1,665,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company's stock worth $1,336,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735,459 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $118.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $116.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.46. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $292.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in a lung cancer indication, a sign the program may move faster and expand Merck’s oncology growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and recent articles highlighted Merck’s newer drugs, pipeline assets, and M&A options as potential offsets to looming Keytruda patent expiration, reinforcing the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has also been drawing investor attention as a trending stock and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, suggesting market confidence remains relatively strong. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, which could provide an update on strategy but is not itself a major business catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed board nominees, pay, and auditor ratification at the annual meeting, which reduces governance uncertainty but is unlikely to move the stock much. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main longer-term concern remains Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity, which could pressure Merck’s biggest revenue driver if replacement products do not scale quickly enough. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.