Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading 1.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares rose 1.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $110.54 and last traded at $110.24. Approximately 19,055,151 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 51% from the average daily volume of 12,621,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.34.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights strong Keytruda demand and new product launches as key upside drivers into Q4 results, supporting longer?term revenue growth and helping sentiment today. Buy, Sell or Hold MRK Stock: Key Factors to Watch Before Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Insider/“smart money” activity: Chirfi Guindo bought roughly $1.06M of MRK stock — a buy by an institutional insider can signal confidence and attract momentum buyers. Smart Money Move: Chirfi Guindo Grabs $1.06M Worth Of Merck & Co Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks’ market recap notes MRK outperformed while the broader market dipped, indicating relative strength and sector?specific buying interest. Why the Market Dipped But Merck (MRK) Gained Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst notes and sector coverage (Globe and Mail) provide mixed, mostly informational views on Merck alongside peers—useful for context but not a clear directional trigger. Analysts Offer Insights on Healthcare Companies: Merck & Company (MRK) and Waters (WAT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional analyst commentary comparing MRK with UnitedHealth provides sector perspective but no new catalyst. Analysts Offer Insights on Healthcare Companies: Merck & Company (MRK) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks’ primer on Wall Street estimates and key metrics ahead of Q4 is a useful reference for modeling MRK’s upcoming quarter but doesn’t itself move the needle. Curious about Merck (MRK) Q4 Performance? Explore Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes MRK is a trending stock on its platform—higher retail/institutional attention increases liquidity and volatility risk but is not a directional catalyst by itself. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks warns that declining analyst estimates and rising M&A?related costs could depress near?term results and investor sentiment—key risk ahead of earnings. Buy, Sell or Hold MRK Stock: Key Factors to Watch Before Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Brokerage consensus is an average “Hold” rating, indicating limited near?term upgrade potential and less bullish analyst conviction. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 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 lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.68. The company has a market capitalization of $273.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 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 Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in 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 buying an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.