Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Merck by 37.1% in Q4, buying 73,614 shares to hold 271,888 shares valued at about $28.62 million.
• Merck beat Q4 estimates with $2.04 EPS and $16.4B revenue (+5% y/y), set FY2026 guidance of 5.00–5.15 EPS, and pays a $0.85 quarterly dividend (≈3.0% yield) with a market cap near $276.2B.
• Strategic catalysts include a multi‑year partnership with Google Cloud for AI and an FDA Priority Review for KEYTRUDA in bladder cancer, while risks include weaker Gardasil sales in China/Japan and recent insider stock sales.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 271,888 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 73,614 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock worth $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company's stock worth $1,733,923,000 after buying an additional 1,156,112 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 2,735,459 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.4%

MRK opened at $111.83 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $118.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.88. The company has a market capitalization of $276.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.26. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued 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 a consensus price target of $128.47.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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 Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. This trade represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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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