HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 44,516 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,679,920 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,516 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.15% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $472,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. UBS Group raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% 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 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $152.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.07 billion, a PE ratio of 121.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.23. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.58 and a 12-month high of $154.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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.