Phoenix Financial Ltd. Has $6.87 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,806 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,745 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $31,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 160.5% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

MRK opened at $113.21 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $116.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.19. The company has a market capitalization of $279.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted that Keytruda continues to be a major growth driver for Merck, with strong first-quarter sales and potential upside from new indications and combination therapies in 2026. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck is being discussed in a broader biotech/biopharma context, including Veeva’s upcoming summit where Merck will participate in AI and commercial strategy discussions. This is more of an industry event than a direct earnings or pipeline catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary noted that Merck has attracted investor attention on Zacks and that recent share-price performance has been mixed, which may be keeping traders focused on valuation rather than prompting a fresh buy or sell signal. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Another market note said Merck’s short-term momentum has cooled after recent weakness, even though longer-term performance remains strong. That suggests investors are weighing the recent pullback against the company’s solid fundamentals. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.