Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its Merck stake by 1.4% in Q3, selling 110,704 shares and now holds 7,566,306 shares (~0.30% of the company) valued at $635.04 million.
• Analysts have turned more bullish with several upgrades and price-target raises (some to the $130–$150 range), leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $126.81.
• Merck beat quarterly estimates with $2.04 EPS on $16.4B revenue, issued FY2026 guidance of $5.00–$5.15 EPS, and announced a $0.85 quarterly dividend (2.9% yield).

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,566,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 110,704 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.30% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $635,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company's stock worth $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company's stock worth $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% in the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,181,000 after purchasing an additional 99,074 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.81.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying: traders bought ~672,962 call options on Friday (a ~1,339% jump vs. typical daily call volume), signaling heavy bullish speculation or hedging interest that can lift near-term implied volatility and upside pressure on MRK shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Phase 3 WELIREG data and regulatory filings deepen Merck’s oncology growth story — new Phase 3 results for belzutifan (WELIREG) combos with KEYTRUDA or LENVIMA show meaningful improvement in RCC; FDA filings with priority reviews/PDUFA dates for 2026 could expand label and revenue runway. Merck’s WELIREG Kidney Cancer Trials Deepen Oncology Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target raises: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $150 and assigned an overweight rating, and Leerink lifted its target as well — both moves increase institutional demand signals and implied upside for MRK. Benzinga Leerink Raises Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital maintains a Buy rating, reinforcing analyst support and potentially bolstering demand from long-only managers. RBC Capital Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Merck & Company (MRK)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish price commentary: coverage and price-target pieces (e.g., 247WallStreet) argue broader upside (some scenarios to $150) based on drug pipeline potential, supporting a favorable narrative among momentum investors. Merck Price Prediction: Sac-TMT Drug Potential Pushes MRK to $150
• Neutral Sentiment: Market report on Ovidrel/Ovitrelle highlights expanding fertility market opportunities that could be a modest long-term tailwind for related Merck products, but it’s not an immediate revenue catalyst. Ovidrel or Ovitrelle Market Research Report 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Misc. coverage items (e.g., stock-picking lists and unrelated biotech moves) mention MRK in broader contexts but are unlikely to materially move the stock on their own. 1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves Some Love and 2 We Avoid ImmunityBio Stock Soars 295% YTD

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE MRK opened at $115.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $285.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The company's fifty day moving average price is $115.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.68.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The company's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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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