Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Raised to $120.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target upped by Cantor Fitzgerald from $116.00 to $120.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE MRK opened at $121.92 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $122.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $302.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, VP Dean Y. Li sold 15,087 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.77, for a total value of $1,791,882.99. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 102,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,146,607.90. The trade was a 12.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 188,603 shares of company stock worth $22,612,212. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP grew its holdings 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. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped estimates (EPS and revenue) and management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $5.00–$5.15 while citing growth drivers such as Keytruda, Animal Health and new drug launches — a near-term earnings beat that supports upside. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target from $122 to $140 and kept a Buy rating, giving analysts’ support to the rally and indicating ~15% further upside from recent levels. Guggenheim PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Other broker notes are bullish — Citigroup and Scotiabank published favorable outlooks/target increases highlighting execution and price appreciation potential. Citigroup Forecast Scotiabank Lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks flags a “subdued” 2026 outlook driven by acquisition-related charges, which mutes the beat; but it still points to Keytruda, Animal Health and new launches as the primary growth levers — a mixed read on near-term margin/earnings progression. Zacks Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Robert M. Davis sold ~47,434 shares, CFO Caroline Litchfield ~41,997 shares, EVP Richard Deluca ~37,685 shares, CMO Chirfi Guindo ~20,000 and multiple other senior executives also trimmed positions — large, coordinated filings that may weigh on sentiment despite corporate explanations (e.g., diversification or tax/planned sales). SEC filings: CEO Form 4 CFO Form 4 EVP Form 4

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.