6,402 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Bought by Meadowbrook Wealth Management LLC

Meadowbrook Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $878,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.9% of Meadowbrook Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,573,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,583 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,083,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,546,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,162,691,000 after purchasing an additional 701,249 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved the combination of Merck’s WELIREG and LENVIMA for adults with advanced renal cell carcinoma previously treated with PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. The approval expands Merck’s oncology portfolio and could create additional revenue opportunities. Merck also started a first-in-human Phase I trial using Cyprumed’s oral peptide-delivery platform, adding a new pipeline initiative. Merck Wins FDA Approval for WELIREG Plus LENVIMA in Kidney Cancer
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained an “overweight” rating and a $177 price target despite trimming its target from $179, implying substantial potential upside based on the referenced price. Cantor Fitzgerald also raised its target to $145, although it retained a neutral rating. Analyst Price Target Updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Value-focused coverage comparing Merck with Innoviva highlights the investment trade-off between Merck’s scale and established products and concerns about valuation and future growth. INVA vs. MRK: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: A Dutch court issued an injunction blocking Merck from selling subcutaneous Keytruda in eight European markets following Halozyme’s patent dispute. The ruling could delay or restrict commercialization of the newer formulation and increases legal and competitive risk around Merck’s most important product. Merck’s Keytruda Is Dealt a Legal Setback
• Negative Sentiment: Industry coverage identifies Merck as particularly exposed to near-term generic competition as major patents expire. That patent-cliff risk may weigh on longer-term growth expectations, especially given Keytruda’s importance to the company. Pharma’s $500B Patent Problem Will Come in Waves

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $142.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,404,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,662,183. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.01 and a 52 week high of $156.92. The company has a market capitalization of $351.45 billion, a PE ratio of 113.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.