Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,604 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,950 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the 2nd 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. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after buying an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,054,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $179.00 in a report on Thursday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $152.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $376.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.58 and a fifty-two week high of $154.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,167 shares in the company, valued at $14,501,282.21. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported that their personalized cancer therapy met key Phase 3 goals, improving recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival for high-risk melanoma patients when added to Keytruda. The result is the first major late-stage win for an mRNA cancer vaccine and strengthens the potential for regulatory approval and broader oncology applications. MRK/MRNA’s Personalized Cancer Therapy Delivers First Phase III Win
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised their outlooks for MRK: Goldman Sachs increased its price target to $160 and kept a Buy rating, while BMO raised its target to $170 and UBS lifted its target to $175. Morgan Stanley also upgraded the shares to Overweight with a $179 target after the cancer-trial success.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors see Merck’s newer products, acquired assets and pipeline programs as a potential growth cushion against Keytruda’s eventual patent expiration. The company’s expanding portfolio could help diversify revenue beyond its flagship drug. Can Merck’s New Drugs Offer Growth Cushion Ahead of Keytruda LOE?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options activity indicates heightened investor interest and potential volatility, but it does not by itself establish the direction of the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: RBC Capital Markets downgraded Merck to Sector Perform and set a $150 target, arguing that execution risks and the 2028 Keytruda loss of exclusivity are being underestimated. RBC said near-term catalysts are attractive, but the stock’s valuation leaves limited room for additional gains. Merck upgraded at Morgan Stanley after cancer trial win; RBC downgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies separately moved Merck from Strong Buy to Hold. The central concern is that the shares have already rallied substantially on the trial news, making the current valuation appear demanding relative to the remaining patent and execution risks.

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.