Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,621,832 shares of the company’s stock after selling 246,130 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $802,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Payne Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Payne Capital LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE MRK opened at $114.23 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.73. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.