HORAN Wealth LLC Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

HORAN Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,093 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,817 shares during the quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after purchasing an additional 567,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $118.35 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $105.93 and its 200 day moving average is $92.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $293.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.87.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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. 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.