Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Bought by RWC Asset Management LLP

RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 213,563 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,477 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.2% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,858,938,000 after buying an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12,130.3% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,068,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,806,000 after buying an additional 2,051,475 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 263.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,702,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,334,000 after buying an additional 1,959,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after buying an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported positive Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results for the personalized melanoma vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda. The treatment reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42% and also improved distant metastasis-free survival, supporting the long-term potential of the partnership’s oncology pipeline. Doctors call Moderna and Merck cancer vaccine data a major advancement
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Keytruda plus Padcev as a perioperative treatment for resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, regardless of patients’ cisplatin eligibility. The broader label expands the addressable market and represents the EU’s first approval of a PD-1 inhibitor combined with an antibody-drug conjugate in this setting. Merck wins EU approval for Keytruda plus Padcev
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite strong clinical results, the vaccine announcement triggered a “sell-the-news” reaction. The data largely met elevated Wall Street expectations after an earlier leak, limiting the immediate upside for MRK even though oncologists viewed the results as an important treatment advance. Merck and Moderna shares fall on cancer vaccine results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about valuation and Merck’s future revenue concentration in Keytruda ahead of its patent cliff. Analysts have also characterized the recent rally as leaving limited margin of safety, increasing the risk of profit-taking when news is merely in line with expectations. Merck rally leaves little margin of safety
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reduced its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.63 from $2.73 and its FY2027 estimate to $9.38 from $9.47. Separate previews also anticipate a year-over-year decline in quarterly earnings, adding near-term pressure to the shares. Merck earnings preview

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE MRK traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $145.25. 8,379,092 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,663,986. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $358.35 billion, a PE ratio of 116.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.01 and a 52 week high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,303. This trade represents a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.