Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Railway Pension Investments Ltd

Key Points

• Railway Pension Investments Ltd trimmed its Merck stake by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, but it still held 1.16 million shares valued at about $121.6 million as of its latest filing.
• Merck reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of ($1.28) versus estimates for ($1.47) and revenue of $16.29 billion, up 4.9% year over year. The company also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of 5.04–5.16.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock: Merck has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $128.18, while the company also offers a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share for a 2.9% yield.

Railway Pension Investments Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,155,015 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,000 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.4% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Railway Pension Investments Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $121,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company's stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $118.49 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $292.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $116.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.46. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during 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 revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. 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 target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.

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