Linscomb Wealth Inc. Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,691 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,277 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the second quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the second quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 12,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the second quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Merck reported $2.04 EPS and $16.4B revenue, driven by strong Keytruda demand and growth in newer products; the beat underpins confidence in current cash flows. Business Wire: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Large analyst upgrade: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $135 and moved to “overweight” (~14% upside vs. current levels), which likely helped buying interest today. TickerReport: Wells Fargo upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement: Jim Cramer flagged Merck as a favorite pharmaceutical name and spoke positively about its ability to “spread out the wealth,” providing retail-visible support. MSN: Jim Cramer on Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Other price-target bumps but still “neutral” ratings — Cantor Fitzgerald and Citigroup raised targets to $120 but kept neutral stances (small upside), which offers modest support but no conviction change. Benzinga: PT raises
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcripts available — management emphasized Keytruda strength and pipeline progress; transcripts provide detail for investors modeling product-by-product risk/reward. Seeking Alpha: Q4 call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious 2026 outlook pressured sentiment — management guided FY26 adjusted EPS to $5.00–$5.15 (consensus ~5.86) and revenue to $65.5B–$67.0B (below Street), which sparked earlier selling and trims near-term growth expectations. Reuters: 2026 guidance & patent concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Patent expirations and generics risk — Januvia and other drugs face loss of exclusivity this year, and management flagged that impact; investors should model increased generic pressure into FY26 estimates. CNBC: generics & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term growth slowdown expected as Merck invests and pursues acquisitions — coverage notes management expects slower earnings growth as it spends on deals and navigates pipeline inflection points. WSJ: slower growth & acquisitions

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $118.35 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.