Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock: Keybank National Association OH Decreases Position

Keybank National Association OH reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 833,279 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,954 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $121,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Round Rock Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares in the company, valued at $4,942,755. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Citigroup raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MRK opened at $148.00 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.26 and a 52 week high of $156.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $364.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 152.57, a PEG ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck reported positive Phase 2b results for efinopegdutide in patients with MASH and moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis. The investigational drug could broaden Merck’s future growth opportunities, though it remains in clinical development. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Merck started a Phase 3 trial of OHTUVAYRE for COPD maintenance and said the FDA granted priority review to sacituzumab tirumotecan for endometrial cancer. Progress across these programs could support its pipeline, although neither development guarantees commercial success. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: A dividend-stock comparison notes that Merck and Gilead raised their 2026 sales outlooks after third-quarter results. It offers limited new company-specific information about MRK beyond that update. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported FDA approval of PIMJETMI (pimicotinib) concerns Merck KGaA, the Germany-based company—not Merck & Co. (MRK)—so it should not be treated as a direct catalyst for MRK. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary warns that 2027 growth could be pressured by generic competition, weaker vaccine demand and slowing Keytruda growth. Those risks may weigh on near-term expectations, even as Merck’s expanding pipeline offers longer-term potential. Article

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.