10,339 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,394 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,339 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,573,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,583 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,546,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,162,691,000 after acquiring an additional 701,249 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total value of $1,539,939.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares in the company, valued at $14,501,282.21. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners initiated a Buy rating on Merck, providing a new bullish endorsement for the company’s valuation and long-term growth prospects. Merck Gets a Buy from Leerink Partners
• Positive Sentiment: Merck will present first-time results from three pivotal Phase 3 oncology trials at ESMO 2026, alongside more than 90 additional abstracts. The event could provide important evidence on the company’s pipeline and help offset concerns about future dependence on established products. Merck ESMO 2026 Oncology Results
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $145 while maintaining a Neutral rating, indicating modest potential upside from recent levels. Citigroup Merck Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck appointed Paul J. Diaz to its board of directors. The leadership addition broadens the board’s experience but is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings expectations. Paul J. Diaz Elected to Merck Board
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s third-quarter earnings report is expected in the next few weeks, with analysts projecting single-digit EPS growth. The upcoming report is a near-term catalyst for the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies cut its peak-sales forecast for experimental eye treatment remigromig by 60% after trial data showed smaller numerical vision improvements than an established rival, despite meeting the statistical non-inferiority threshold. The revision reduces expectations for a potential pipeline contributor. Jefferies Cuts Remigromig Sales Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its price target to $145 from $150 and retained a Sector Perform rating. Erste Group Bank also modestly reduced its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates, reinforcing caution around Merck’s earnings outlook. RBC Lowers Merck Price Target

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:MRK opened at $141.97 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.73. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.01 and a 12 month 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 $350.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 272.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.