Norges Bank Purchases New Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in Merck, buying about 37.98 million shares valued at roughly $4.0 billion, giving it a 1.53% ownership position at quarter-end.
• Merck’s pipeline got a boost when the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in a lung cancer indication, potentially speeding development and supporting future oncology growth.
• The stock remains supported by Wall Street and income investors: analysts still have a Moderate Buy consensus, and Merck recently declared a $0.85 quarterly dividend yielding about 2.9%.

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 37,981,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Norges Bank owned 1.53% of Merck & Co., Inc. at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company's stock worth $53,918,000 after purchasing an additional 359,356 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Barclays began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $118.49 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $292.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.18. 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 50-day moving average of $116.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s 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, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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.

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.