889,899 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Mondrian Investment Partners LTD

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 60.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 584,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 889,899 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.8% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $84,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,527,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Gibbs Wealth Management increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 14,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 213,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,033,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 shares in the last quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winthrop Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported positive Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results for the personalized melanoma vaccine, intismeran, combined with Keytruda. The treatment reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42% and also improved distant metastasis-free survival, supporting the long-term potential of the partnership’s oncology pipeline. Doctors call Moderna and Merck cancer vaccine data a major advancement
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Keytruda plus Padcev as a perioperative treatment for resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, regardless of patients’ cisplatin eligibility. The broader label expands the addressable market and represents the EU’s first approval of a PD-1 inhibitor combined with an antibody-drug conjugate in this setting. Merck wins EU approval for Keytruda plus Padcev
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite strong clinical results, the vaccine announcement triggered a “sell-the-news” reaction. The data largely met elevated Wall Street expectations after an earlier leak, limiting the immediate upside for MRK even though oncologists viewed the results as an important treatment advance. Merck and Moderna shares fall on cancer vaccine results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about valuation and Merck’s future revenue concentration in Keytruda ahead of its patent cliff. Analysts have also characterized the recent rally as leaving limited margin of safety, increasing the risk of profit-taking when news is merely in line with expectations. Merck rally leaves little margin of safety
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reduced its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.63 from $2.73 and its FY2027 estimate to $9.38 from $9.47. Separate previews also anticipate a year-over-year decline in quarterly earnings, adding near-term pressure to the shares. Merck earnings preview

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $145.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $358.35 billion, a PE ratio of 116.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.01 and a twelve month high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 272.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Argus raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Daiwa Securities Group raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.