Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 308,927 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,337 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $25,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Positive late‑stage clinical results across oncology and HIV programs — Phase 3 data for KEYTRUDA and WELIREG showed improved survival/expanded indications in kidney, ovarian and bladder cancer, and Merck highlighted progress on its DOR/ISL HIV program; these outcomes support revenue growth potential from high‑margin specialty drugs. Merck Trial Wins Shape Oncology And HIV Prospects For Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings and guidance remain supportive — Merck posted an EPS beat and set FY2026 guidance, which underpins expectations for profitability and cash generation that fund R&D, buybacks, and dividends. (Earnings referenced from Merck’s Feb results.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market reports note expanding markets for several of Merck’s products (neuroendocrine carcinoma, vaccines like Ervebo, M‑M‑R II, and fertility drug Elonva); these reports signal longer‑term TAM expansion but are not near‑term catalysts by themselves. Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Market Poised for Significant Growth Ervebo (Merck & Co) Market Research Report 2026 M-M-R II (Merck & Co) Market Research Report 2026 Elonva (Merck & Co) Market Research Report 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑term price momentum: recent coverage noted MRK moving higher within the S&P 500 and outperforming the market on some sessions — useful context for market positioning but not a fundamental change. Merck & Co. Moves Higher Within S&P 500 Index Amid Gains Merck (MRK) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution on Winrevair — RBC flagged that Winrevair needs to show at least a 20‑meter improvement on the 6‑minute walk test to build confidence; failure to meet clinically meaningful thresholds could weigh on sentiment for that respiratory program. Merck’s Winrevair Must Show Walk Distance Improvement to Build Confidence, RBC Says

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $116.21 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $287.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 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. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $114.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.26.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.