Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $144.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $355.33 billion, a PE ratio of 115.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.58 and a 12-month high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $995,000. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 3,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,073,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,403,000 after buying an additional 227,589 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC raised its price target for Merck (MRK) from $150 to $172 and maintained a “Buy” rating, implying substantial upside from the recent share price. Benzinga analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim also increased its Merck price target to $170, reinforcing the view that the company’s pipeline, newer medicines and potential cancer-drug combinations can support growth beyond Keytruda. Guggenheim increases Merck price target
• Positive Sentiment: Merck is expanding its development pipeline and commercial portfolio to reduce reliance on Keytruda ahead of its 2028 patent and exclusivity challenges. This provides a longer-term growth narrative, although execution and successful launches remain important. Merck pipeline and new drugs
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s stock attracted significant investor attention, but the coverage offers limited new fundamental information. Separately, broader pharmaceutical discussion highlighted manufacturing hurdles for personalized cancer vaccines and risks surrounding confidential industry information. Merck and cancer-vaccine risks
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Merck’s valuation looks demanding relative to its growth rate and to faster-growing peers such as Eli Lilly. Those concerns, combined with the future Keytruda revenue gap, likely contributed to the recent weakness despite higher analyst targets. Merck valuation versus Eli Lilly

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures, and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets worldwide through its Human Health and Animal Health businesses.

Merck’s pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious disease, cardiology, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Its products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat various cancers; Gardasil, a vaccine that helps protect against human papillomavirus (HPV); and Januvia, a treatment for type 2 diabetes.