Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Cut by Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,146 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,589 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $47,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,573,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,583 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,501,282.21. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $145.25 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.24. 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 $358.35 billion, a PE ratio of 116.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.01 and a 12 month high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported positive Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results for the personalized melanoma vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda. The treatment reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42% and also improved distant metastasis-free survival, supporting the long-term potential of the partnership’s oncology pipeline. Doctors call Moderna and Merck cancer vaccine data a major advancement
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Keytruda plus Padcev as a perioperative treatment for resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, regardless of patients’ cisplatin eligibility. The broader label expands the addressable market and represents the EU’s first approval of a PD-1 inhibitor combined with an antibody-drug conjugate in this setting. Merck wins EU approval for Keytruda plus Padcev
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite strong clinical results, the vaccine announcement triggered a “sell-the-news” reaction. The data largely met elevated Wall Street expectations after an earlier leak, limiting the immediate upside for MRK even though oncologists viewed the results as an important treatment advance. Merck and Moderna shares fall on cancer vaccine results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about valuation and Merck’s future revenue concentration in Keytruda ahead of its patent cliff. Analysts have also characterized the recent rally as leaving limited margin of safety, increasing the risk of profit-taking when news is merely in line with expectations. Merck rally leaves little margin of safety
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reduced its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.63 from $2.73 and its FY2027 estimate to $9.38 from $9.47. Separate previews also anticipate a year-over-year decline in quarterly earnings, adding near-term pressure to the shares. Merck earnings preview

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. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.