State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 13,300 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its Merck stake by 1.8%, selling 13,300 shares in Q4 and retaining 724,490 shares valued at about $76.26 million.
• Merck announced a multi‑year partnership with Google Cloud/AI and won FDA Priority Review for KEYTRUDA in muscle‑invasive bladder cancer, but faces downside risk from weakening Gardasil sales in China and Japan.
• Company insiders have been net sellers: CEO Robert Davis sold 47,434 shares and CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares, with insiders offloading 320,176 shares (~$38.3M) over the last 90 days and owning just 0.17% of the stock.

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 724,490 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,300 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $76,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd 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. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company's stock worth $1,733,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,112 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735,459 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $111.83 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $118.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.26.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm'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. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 46.70%.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced a multi‑year, enterprise‑wide partnership with Google Cloud to deploy Gemini AI and advanced cloud infrastructure for drug discovery, manufacturing and operations — a strategic move that could improve R&D productivity and long‑term margins. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Merck won FDA Priority Review for KEYTRUDA regimens in muscle‑invasive bladder cancer — a potential near‑term upsid e for oncology revenue if approved, supporting key growth drivers beyond vaccines. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approval momentum: the company secured FDA approval for Idvynso (doravirine + islatravir) for HIV‑1 treatment, and is cited among defensive/counter‑cyclical stock picks — positives for investor sentiment and diversification of approved products. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Progress on M&A: the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino waiting period expired for Merck’s tender offer to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals, clearing an antitrust procedural hurdle and bringing the acquisition closer to closing — strategic but not immediately earnings‑material. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Vaccines headwinds: reports highlight a sharp slump in Gardasil sales in China and Japan, which pressures MRK’s vaccines revenue into the upcoming Q1 results and raises downside risk to top‑line guidance if the trend persists. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst expectations: several analyst notes expect a decline in Q1 earnings and flag that Merck may lack the near‑term drivers for an earnings beat — this raises the risk of downside surprise and explains short‑term selling pressure. Read More. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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