New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its Merck stake by 0.7% in the first quarter, selling 15,283 shares and leaving it with 2,057,639 shares worth about $247.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment on Merck is generally positive. Recent calls included upgrades and higher price targets, and the stock now carries an average “Moderate Buy” rating with a consensus target price of $131.83.
• Merck reported solid quarterly results and continued its dividend. The company beat EPS and revenue estimates, raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance, and declared a $0.85 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.6% annualized yield.

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,057,639 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,283 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.5% of New York State Teachers Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $247,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,296,000 after acquiring an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company's stock worth $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. CICC Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.2%

MRK stock opened at $129.34 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.29. The company has a market capitalization of $319.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19. The business's 50 day moving average price is $117.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) 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 company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

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.

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