RHL Group LLC Has $64,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• RHL Group LLC cut its Merck position by 97.7% in the second quarter, selling 21,497 shares and retaining 500 shares worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds still own 76.07% of Merck’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with 15 Buy ratings and 8 Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $144.10 price target. However, RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies cited valuation, execution concerns and Keytruda’s 2028 patent expiration when lowering their outlooks.
• Merck and Moderna reported positive Phase 3 results for their personalized cancer therapy used with Keytruda, while Merck’s quarterly revenue rose 5.1% year over year to $16.61 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, equivalent to a 2.2% annualized yield.

RHL Group LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 97.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 500 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,497 shares during the quarter. RHL Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $64,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock worth $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock worth $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company's stock worth $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. CICC Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $143.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $142.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.10.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported that their personalized cancer therapy met key Phase 3 goals, improving recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival for high-risk melanoma patients when added to Keytruda. The result is the first major late-stage win for an mRNA cancer vaccine and strengthens the potential for regulatory approval and broader oncology applications. MRK/MRNA's Personalized Cancer Therapy Delivers First Phase III Win
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised their outlooks for MRK: Goldman Sachs increased its price target to $160 and kept a Buy rating, while BMO raised its target to $170 and UBS lifted its target to $175. Morgan Stanley also upgraded the shares to Overweight with a $179 target after the cancer-trial success.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors see Merck’s newer products, acquired assets and pipeline programs as a potential growth cushion against Keytruda’s eventual patent expiration. The company’s expanding portfolio could help diversify revenue beyond its flagship drug. Can Merck's New Drugs Offer Growth Cushion Ahead of Keytruda LOE?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options activity indicates heightened investor interest and potential volatility, but it does not by itself establish the direction of the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: RBC Capital Markets downgraded Merck to Sector Perform and set a $150 target, arguing that execution risks and the 2028 Keytruda loss of exclusivity are being underestimated. RBC said near-term catalysts are attractive, but the stock’s valuation leaves limited room for additional gains. Merck upgraded at Morgan Stanley after cancer trial win; RBC downgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies separately moved Merck from Strong Buy to Hold. The central concern is that the shares have already rallied substantially on the trial news, making the current valuation appear demanding relative to the remaining patent and execution risks.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the business's 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 owned 45,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,106,303. This represents a 24.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.3%

MRK stock opened at $152.43 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.58 and a twelve month high of $154.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $376.07 billion, a PE ratio of 121.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 0.19. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $128.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.23.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 272.00%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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