Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) – Research Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates

A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK):

• 9/12/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold”.
• 9/10/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by HSBC Holdings plc from $150.00 to $172.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 9/9/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Leerink Partners from $127.00 to $161.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 9/8/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Guggenheim from $146.00 to $170.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 9/4/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $170.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 8/25/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from “hold (c-)” to “hold (c)”.
• 8/25/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Wolfe Research from $155.00 to $180.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 8/25/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Argus from $145.00 to $170.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/22/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “hold” to “buy”.
• 8/21/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by BMO Capital Markets from $142.00 to $170.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 8/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by UBS Group AG from $145.00 to $175.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada from “outperform” to “sector perform”. They now have a $150.00 price target on the stock, up from $142.00.
• 8/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from “equal weight” to “overweight”. They now have a $179.00 price target on the stock, up from $116.00.
• 8/19/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from “strong-buy” to “hold”.
• 8/12/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Daiwa Securities Group Inc. from “neutral” to “outperform”. They now have a $143.00 price target on the stock.
• 8/11/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Weiss Ratings from “hold (c)” to “hold (c-)”.
• 8/11/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Argus from $130.00 to $145.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/5/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Guggenheim from $145.00 to $146.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/29/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Barclays PLC from $140.00 to $150.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold”.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total value of $2,710,857.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,569,312.29. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures, and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets worldwide through its Human Health and Animal Health businesses.

Merck’s pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious disease, cardiology, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Its products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat various cancers; Gardasil, a vaccine that helps protect against human papillomavirus (HPV); and Januvia, a treatment for type 2 diabetes.