HORAN Wealth LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

HORAN Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,093 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,817 shares during the period. HORAN Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Merck reported $2.04 EPS and $16.4B revenue, driven by strong Keytruda demand and growth in newer products; the beat underpins confidence in current cash flows. Business Wire: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Large analyst upgrade: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $135 and moved to “overweight” (~14% upside vs. current levels), which likely helped buying interest today. TickerReport: Wells Fargo upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement: Jim Cramer flagged Merck as a favorite pharmaceutical name and spoke positively about its ability to “spread out the wealth,” providing retail-visible support. MSN: Jim Cramer on Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Other price-target bumps but still “neutral” ratings — Cantor Fitzgerald and Citigroup raised targets to $120 but kept neutral stances (small upside), which offers modest support but no conviction change. Benzinga: PT raises
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcripts available — management emphasized Keytruda strength and pipeline progress; transcripts provide detail for investors modeling product-by-product risk/reward. Seeking Alpha: Q4 call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious 2026 outlook pressured sentiment — management guided FY26 adjusted EPS to $5.00–$5.15 (consensus ~5.86) and revenue to $65.5B–$67.0B (below Street), which sparked earlier selling and trims near-term growth expectations. Reuters: 2026 guidance & patent concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Patent expirations and generics risk — Januvia and other drugs face loss of exclusivity this year, and management flagged that impact; investors should model increased generic pressure into FY26 estimates. CNBC: generics & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term growth slowdown expected as Merck invests and pursues acquisitions — coverage notes management expects slower earnings growth as it spends on deals and navigates pipeline inflection points. WSJ: slower growth & acquisitions

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $118.35 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The business’s revenue 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. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.