ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Has $160.53 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,919,002 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,932 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.6% of ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $160,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE MRK opened at $118.35 on Thursday. 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. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.66. The company has a market cap of $293.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.87.

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.