Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Increased by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management increased its Merck position by 6.8% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 147,415 shares valued at approximately $21.0 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 76.07% of MRK.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 17 Buy ratings and 10 Holds; Merck has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $151.92.
• Merck reported quarterly revenue of $16.61 billion, ahead of estimates, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% annualized yield. However, insiders sold roughly $30.0 million of stock over the past three months.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,415 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,323 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $20,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,470,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,578,024 shares of the company's stock worth $331,931,000 after purchasing an additional 51,393 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,184,340 shares of the company's stock worth $794,577,000 after purchasing an additional 402,011 shares during the period. Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $995,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 410.5% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 705,442 shares of the company's stock worth $74,255,000 after purchasing an additional 567,249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Argus raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $145.49 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.01 and a 52 week high of $156.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $358.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company 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 revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued 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 272.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced that first-time pivotal Phase 3 results from three oncology trials will be presented at the ESMO 2026 congress, alongside more than 90 additional abstracts covering over 20 tumor types. The disclosures create a near-term pipeline catalyst and could reinforce confidence in Merck’s ability to replenish growth as investors assess its longer-term portfolio. Merck ESMO 2026 announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Positive Phase 3 results from Merck’s personalized mRNA cancer-vaccine program with Moderna, combined with reports of a potential U.S.-backed initiative to accelerate cancer-vaccine development, support investor interest in the company’s oncology and vaccine pipeline.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry reports project continued growth in bioconjugation reagents, bioprocessing supplies, industrial bioprocessing, protein labeling and cell culture. Merck is listed among suppliers in these markets, but the reports do not identify a new contract or quantify a material revenue impact for MRK. Global cell culture market report
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $145 while maintaining a neutral rating, and RBC lowered its target to $145 with a sector-perform rating. The actions suggest limited near-term valuation upside at current levels.
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies cut its peak-sales forecast for remigromig by 60% after detailed diabetic macular edema results showed smaller numerical vision gains and raised safety concerns versus established treatment Lucentis. Although the trial met the statistical non-inferiority threshold, the reduced commercial outlook weighs on expectations for Merck’s ophthalmology pipeline. Jefferies remigromig forecast

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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