Worth Asset Management LLC Takes $579,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $119.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $296.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.93. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.13.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced a US$6.7B acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals to add TERN-701 (an investigational oral CML therapy) to its oncology/hematology pipeline—a clear move to build revenue and R&D options ahead of Keytruda’s planned 2028 exclusivity loss. Merck Targets Post Keytruda Future With US$6.7b Terns Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: RBC reiterated an Outperform and kept a $142 price target after Merck’s Terns call, signaling sell‑side support for the strategy despite questions about the transaction premium. RBC Reiterates Merck (MRK) Outperform
• Positive Sentiment: Agilent won FDA approval for the PD‑L1 22C3 companion diagnostic in esophageal/GEJ carcinoma, which can help identify patients for Keytruda treatment—supportive for near‑term uptake in that indication. Agilent receives FDA approval for PD-L1 1HC 22C3 pharmDx
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) and option/trade ideas targeting MRK indicate elevated investor interest and constructive conviction in Merck as a defensive large‑cap pharma. Jim Cramer on Merck & Co.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst model tweaks are minor: Erste marginally raised FY2026 EPS estimates (from $5.12 to $5.13), reflecting limited near‑term changes to consensus earnings expectations. MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note Merck has outperformed recently (stock up ~50% over six months); some articles offer tactical trade ideas (options/covered calls) that reflect market momentum rather than fundamental shifts. Merck Stock Soars 50% in 6 Months
• Negative Sentiment: Keytruda’s planned 2028 loss of exclusivity remains the central long‑term risk—analysts and articles stress patent cliff exposure and some weak vaccine sales, which temper valuation upside. Zacks: Merck Stock Soars 50% in 6 Months
• Negative Sentiment: The proposed Terns transaction may face rival interest and is the subject of a shareholder‑lawyer investigation (Kahn Swick & Foti), introducing deal execution, regulatory and legal risk that could delay or change terms. MSN: Merck’s Terns acquisition may face rival interest BusinessWire: KSF Investigation

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.