Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Lessened by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank trimmed its Merck stake by 5.0% in Q3, selling 379,300 shares and ending the period with 7,238,251 shares (about 0.29% of the company) valued at roughly $607.5 million.
• Wall Street’s consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $125.88 price target after several analysts raised their targets (many in the $120–$130 range).
• Merck beat Q results (EPS $2.04 vs. $2.01; revenue $16.40B, +5% YoY), set FY2026 EPS guidance of $5.00–5.15, pays a $0.85 quarterly dividend (2.9% yield), and insiders sold about 320,176 shares (~$38.3M) last quarter.

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,238,251 shares of the company's stock after selling 379,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $607,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.85 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.71. The company has a market cap of $286.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14.

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, 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 company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.19 billion. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,825,356.20. This represents a 19.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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