Causeway Capital Management LLC Purchases 151,397 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,134,057 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 151,397 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.3% of Causeway Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Causeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $95,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the second quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 5,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.0% during the second quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 36,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,857,000 after buying an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit X LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.5% in the second quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $117.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $289.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.42 and its 200-day moving average is $98.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck exercised an option on Evaxion’s EVX?B3 infectious disease vaccine program — a sign of active pipeline expansion and BD activity that can add future revenue potential. Evaxion (EVAX) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Merck expanded a multi?year collaboration with Tempus AI on oncology and drug discovery tools — this reinforces R&D capability and could accelerate discovery programs. Assessing Tempus AI (TEM) Valuation After Expanded Merck Collaboration Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Market research on Pneumovax 23 highlights expanding adult/geriatric immunization demand and distribution improvements — potential tailwinds for Merck’s vaccine franchise over the medium term. Pneumovax 23 (Merck & Co) Market Research Report 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Headline market move note — outlets flagged MRK trading above the prior close, reflecting today’s mixed news flow and investor repositioning. Merck (MRK) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/reporting items: analyses and Dow pieces compare Merck with peers and flag sector shifts — useful context but not single?handedly market moving for MRK. 2 Dow Jones Stocks to Research Further and 1 Facing Headwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Factbox: drugmakers are increasing U.S. manufacturing and inventory ahead of potential tariffs — could protect supply but may raise near?term capex and inventory costs. Factbox-Global drugmakers rush to boost US presence as tariff threat looms
• Negative Sentiment: Big headwind: Gardasil sales plunged ~39% in 2025 (weak demand in China) and management does not expect a rebound in 2026 — a meaningful near?term drag on Merck’s vaccine revenues and top?line growth. Will Weak Gardasil Sales Continue to Weigh on MRK’s Top Line in 2026?

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.