Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 25,005 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 51.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,512 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,005 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. ERn Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the third quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd now owns 13,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,000,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. now owns 5,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 132,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,390,000 after buying an additional 3,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $243,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $146.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.49. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.01 and a fifty-two week high of $156.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.05, a P/E/G ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,942,755. This trade represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Beat-and-raise results supported the stock. Merck lifted its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook, helped by better performance from Keytruda—including the newer Qlex formulation—and recently launched products. The company’s sales forecast was raised to approximately $66.8 billion-$67.3 billion. MRK Q3 earnings and sales beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Growth from newer products is helping offset longer-term patent concerns. WINREVAIR revenue rose sharply, reaching about $694 million, while Keytruda and Qlex sales remained resilient. Investors are looking for these products to reduce Merck’s dependence on Keytruda before its expected patent-related erosion later in the decade. Merck revenue up on Keytruda and Winrevair growth
• Positive Sentiment: Oncology pipeline news improved Merck’s growth narrative. Phase 3 data showed KEYTRUDA reduced the risk of disease progression in advanced endometrial cancer, while sacituzumab tirumotecan produced positive late-stage results and received FDA priority review. These developments could expand Merck’s future cancer franchise if approvals and commercialization succeed. Merck Phase 3 endometrial cancer data and FDA review
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term revenue quality remains mixed. Management indicated that roughly $550 million of quarterly sales benefited from customer-purchase timing, suggesting underlying growth was closer to flat. Merck also warned of generic-drug headwinds in 2027, making pipeline execution increasingly important.
• Negative Sentiment: Patent-cliff and legal risks remain overhangs. Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity remains the central long-term concern, and a law firm announced an investigation into potential securities-law violations related to an October 22 disclosure. No wrongdoing has been established.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.