Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,701,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. CICC Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.50.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $150 from $140 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying roughly 15% upside from the referenced price. The increase reflects continued confidence in Merck’s outlook. Barclays raises Merck price target
• Positive Sentiment: KEYTRUDA met its primary progression-free-survival endpoint in a Phase 3 trial for advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, outperforming platinum-based chemotherapy. Merck said the result could support future regulatory filings and strengthen its oncology pipeline. Merck KEYTRUDA endometrial cancer trial
• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced its fourth-quarter 2026 dividend, reinforcing the stock’s appeal to income-oriented investors and signaling continued capital-return support. The provided announcement did not include the dividend amount or payment details. Merck fourth-quarter dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated its Buy rating, while broader brokerage coverage places Merck at a “Moderate Buy” consensus, indicating generally favorable but not universally bullish sentiment. Wells Fargo maintains Merck Buy rating
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect Merck’s second-quarter earnings to decline, and a Zacks preview says the company lacks the typical signals associated with a likely earnings beat. This raises near-term execution risk ahead of the earnings report. Merck second-quarter earnings preview

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $130.45 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.24. The company has a market capitalization of $322.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.53 and a 1 year high of $135.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.