Shrier Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 22,127 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Shrier Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 22,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,329,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck struck an R&D collaboration with Infinimmune to discover multiple human antibodies, a deal worth up to about $838 million in milestones — expands discovery engine with low upfront risk and broadens immunology/oncology pipeline. Infinimmune, Merck enter into antibody discovery pact
• Positive Sentiment: Late‑stage results: Merck reported an oral cholesterol drug reduced “bad” LDL cholesterol by ~64.6% in a Phase 3 trial — a potential next blockbuster and revenue driver if approved. Merck’s drug reduced bad cholesterol by 64.6% in late-stage trial
• Positive Sentiment: Clinical pipeline wins beyond cholesterol: coverage of WINREVAIR Phase 2 success in a tough heart‑failure segment highlights additional mid‑stage upside and may support expectations for future label expansions. How Investors May Respond To Merck (MRK) WINREVAIR Phase 2 Success In Tough Heart Failure Segment
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142 price target, signaling analyst confidence in upside and reinforcing buy interest. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: M&A and portfolio building: Merck’s earlier ~$6.7B Terns acquisition and other strategic bets strengthen the oncology/precision‑medicine growth story and support longer‑term revenue visibility. Merck Just Made a Big Bet on a New Cancer Growth Engine
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro positioning: Barclays listed Merck among defensive stocks to consider amid market volatility — may attract safe‑haven flows but is a structural view rather than an immediate catalyst. Barclays names top 4 defensive stocks to weather global uncertainty
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector fund flows: Blackstone closed a record $6.3B life‑sciences fund, positive for biotech/medtech deal activity broadly but not an immediate company‑specific driver. Blackstone closes largest ever private funding investment round at $6.3bn
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness and recent pullbacks: Merck shares dipped with the broader market correction recently, creating near‑term volatility and profit‑taking risk despite company‑specific positives. Merck (MRK) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE MRK opened at $120.26 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $297.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $117.04 and its 200-day moving average is $102.55.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid 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 yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.