Cannell & Spears LLC Purchases 7,934 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cannell & Spears LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 345,292 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,934 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094,088 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying: traders bought ~672,962 call options on Friday (a ~1,339% jump vs. typical daily call volume), signaling heavy bullish speculation or hedging interest that can lift near-term implied volatility and upside pressure on MRK shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Phase 3 WELIREG data and regulatory filings deepen Merck’s oncology growth story — new Phase 3 results for belzutifan (WELIREG) combos with KEYTRUDA or LENVIMA show meaningful improvement in RCC; FDA filings with priority reviews/PDUFA dates for 2026 could expand label and revenue runway. Merck’s WELIREG Kidney Cancer Trials Deepen Oncology Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target raises: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $150 and assigned an overweight rating, and Leerink lifted its target as well — both moves increase institutional demand signals and implied upside for MRK. Benzinga Leerink Raises Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital maintains a Buy rating, reinforcing analyst support and potentially bolstering demand from long-only managers. RBC Capital Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Merck & Company (MRK)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish price commentary: coverage and price-target pieces (e.g., 247WallStreet) argue broader upside (some scenarios to $150) based on drug pipeline potential, supporting a favorable narrative among momentum investors. Merck Price Prediction: Sac-TMT Drug Potential Pushes MRK to $150
• Neutral Sentiment: Market report on Ovidrel/Ovitrelle highlights expanding fertility market opportunities that could be a modest long-term tailwind for related Merck products, but it’s not an immediate revenue catalyst. Ovidrel or Ovitrelle Market Research Report 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Misc. coverage items (e.g., stock-picking lists and unrelated biotech moves) mention MRK in broader contexts but are unlikely to materially move the stock on their own. 1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves Some Love and 2 We Avoid ImmunityBio Stock Soars 295% YTD

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $115.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.68. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $285.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

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.