D.A. Davidson & CO. Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & Co. raised its stake in Merck by 4.4% to 576,959 shares (worth $60.73M), while institutional investors own 76.07% of the stock and insiders have sold 320,176 shares in the past 90 days, now holding just 0.17%.
• Merck beat Q results with $2.04 EPS vs. $2.01 and $16.4B revenue (+5% YoY), set FY2026 guidance of 5.00–5.15 EPS (analysts ~4.89), and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.85 (3.0% yield).
• Key catalysts include a multi‑year Google Cloud/Gemini AI partnership and FDA Priority Review for KEYTRUDA in bladder cancer, but Gardasil sales weakness in China/Japan and analyst expectations of a Q1 earnings decline pose near‑term risks.

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 576,959 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $60,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,918,000 after purchasing an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MRK opened at $111.83 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $118.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The stock has a market cap of $276.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced a multi‑year, enterprise‑wide partnership with Google Cloud to deploy Gemini AI and advanced cloud infrastructure for drug discovery, manufacturing and operations — a strategic move that could improve R&D productivity and long‑term margins. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Merck won FDA Priority Review for KEYTRUDA regimens in muscle‑invasive bladder cancer — a potential near‑term upsid e for oncology revenue if approved, supporting key growth drivers beyond vaccines. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approval momentum: the company secured FDA approval for Idvynso (doravirine + islatravir) for HIV‑1 treatment, and is cited among defensive/counter‑cyclical stock picks — positives for investor sentiment and diversification of approved products. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Progress on M&A: the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino waiting period expired for Merck’s tender offer to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals, clearing an antitrust procedural hurdle and bringing the acquisition closer to closing — strategic but not immediately earnings‑material. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Vaccines headwinds: reports highlight a sharp slump in Gardasil sales in China and Japan, which pressures MRK’s vaccines revenue into the upcoming Q1 results and raises downside risk to top‑line guidance if the trend persists. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst expectations: several analyst notes expect a decline in Q1 earnings and flag that Merck may lack the near‑term drivers for an earnings beat — this raises the risk of downside surprise and explains short‑term selling pressure. Read More. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.

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