Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,396,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 349,341 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.14% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $285,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after buying an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 209.1% in the second quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 16,202 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $118.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $293.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Merck reported $2.04 EPS and $16.4B revenue, driven by strong Keytruda demand and growth in newer products; the beat underpins confidence in current cash flows. Business Wire: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Large analyst upgrade: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $135 and moved to “overweight” (~14% upside vs. current levels), which likely helped buying interest today. TickerReport: Wells Fargo upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement: Jim Cramer flagged Merck as a favorite pharmaceutical name and spoke positively about its ability to “spread out the wealth,” providing retail-visible support. MSN: Jim Cramer on Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Other price-target bumps but still “neutral” ratings — Cantor Fitzgerald and Citigroup raised targets to $120 but kept neutral stances (small upside), which offers modest support but no conviction change. Benzinga: PT raises
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcripts available — management emphasized Keytruda strength and pipeline progress; transcripts provide detail for investors modeling product-by-product risk/reward. Seeking Alpha: Q4 call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious 2026 outlook pressured sentiment — management guided FY26 adjusted EPS to $5.00–$5.15 (consensus ~5.86) and revenue to $65.5B–$67.0B (below Street), which sparked earlier selling and trims near-term growth expectations. Reuters: 2026 guidance & patent concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Patent expirations and generics risk — Januvia and other drugs face loss of exclusivity this year, and management flagged that impact; investors should model increased generic pressure into FY26 estimates. CNBC: generics & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term growth slowdown expected as Merck invests and pursues acquisitions — coverage notes management expects slower earnings growth as it spends on deals and navigates pipeline inflection points. WSJ: slower growth & acquisitions

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.