Research Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates for Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK):

• 8/25/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from “hold (c-)” to “hold (c)”.
• 8/25/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Wolfe Research from $155.00 to $180.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 8/25/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Argus from $145.00 to $170.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/22/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “hold” to “buy”.
• 8/21/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by BMO Capital Markets from $142.00 to $170.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 8/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by UBS Group AG from $145.00 to $175.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada from “outperform” to “sector perform”. They now have a $150.00 price target on the stock, up from $142.00.
• 8/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from “equal weight” to “overweight”. They now have a $179.00 price target on the stock, up from $116.00.
• 8/19/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from “strong-buy” to “hold”.
• 8/12/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Daiwa Securities Group Inc. from “neutral” to “outperform”. They now have a $143.00 price target on the stock.
• 8/11/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Weiss Ratings from “hold (c)” to “hold (c-)”.
• 8/11/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Argus from $130.00 to $145.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/5/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Guggenheim from $145.00 to $146.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/29/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Barclays PLC from $140.00 to $150.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/20/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold”.
• 7/13/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $135.00 to $140.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/13/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by BMO Capital Markets from $135.00 to $142.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/13/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Guggenheim from $140.00 to $145.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/12/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “hold” to “buy”.
• 7/9/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $112.00 to $113.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 7/8/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Royal Bank Of Canada. They now have a $142.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/8/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $145.00 to $150.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/6/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $120.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/4/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold”.
• 6/30/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Bank of America Corporation from $130.00 to $141.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 6/30/2026 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by Scotiabank from $136.00 to $155.00. They now have a “sector outperform” rating on the stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,942,755. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.