Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Purchases New Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Completed acquisition of JSR Life Sciences’ chromatography business broadens Merck’s downstream purification portfolio with next‑generation Protein A chromatography, improving its biomanufacturing offering and positioning it to capture more upstream/downstream spend from biologics manufacturers. Merck Completes Acquisition of JSR Life Sciences’ Chromatography Business
• Positive Sentiment: New R&D collaboration with Infinimmune could deliver up to ~$838M in milestones to Merck as it funds discovery of immune cell‑directed antibodies — expands early‑stage pipeline and de‑risks future biologics launches. Infinimmune, Merck enter into antibody discovery pact
• Positive Sentiment: Merck’s recent acquisitions and the Terns buy (noted in coverage) signal management’s push to bolster oncology revenue streams — a strategic move that supports longer‑term growth and margin expansion. Merck Just Made a Big Bet on a New Cancer Growth Engine
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada issued an Outperform rating on MRK, which can draw buying interest from institutional investors and supports the stock’s momentum. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Earns Outperform Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada
• Positive Sentiment: Latest quarterly results showed an EPS beat and raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance (5.000–5.150), supporting the view that core operations and margins remain healthy. Merck & Co., Inc. Stock/Results Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces highlighting Merck as an “affordable” dividend/defensive stock and inclusion in lists of defensive names may increase retail interest but are unlikely to move fundamentals materially. Why is Merck & Co. (MRK) One of the Best Affordable Stocks to Buy With Good Earnings Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting an expanded collaboration between Tempus AI and Merck highlights partnerships in data/AI, but the near‑term revenue impact for Merck is unclear. Assessing Tempus AI (TEM) Valuation After ALERT Cardiology Trial Results And Expanded Merck Collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market pieces (Barclays’ defensive picks, Blackstone fund closing) provide context for investor flows into healthcare but do not directly change Merck’s fundamentals. Barclays names top 4 defensive stocks to weather global uncertainty
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term price churn has appeared in recent sessions (some intraday dips and lagging vs. the broader market on certain days), reflecting market volatility and rotation risk that could cap near‑term upside. Merck (MRK) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $121.06 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $299.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.68.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.