OLD National Bancorp IN Has $17.11 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

OLD National Bancorp IN lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,869 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 465,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,086,000 after buying an additional 18,602 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 27,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,927,000 after acquiring an additional 4,997 shares in the last quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 5,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 4,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:MRK opened at $113.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $280.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $118.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. 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, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced a multi?year partnership with Google Cloud, committing up to $1 billion to deploy Google’s Gemini Enterprise agentic AI across R&D, manufacturing, commercial and corporate functions — a move that could accelerate drug discovery, improve manufacturing efficiency and modernize Merck’s digital backbone. Merck to partner with Google Cloud on AI initiatives
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Priority Review to supplemental BLAs for KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX in combination regimens for muscle?invasive bladder cancer — a faster review path that, if approved, would expand Keytruda’s label and revenue potential in urothelial cancers. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Gains FDA Priority Review for KEYTRUDA Regimen in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA approved IDVYNSO (doravirine/islatravir), a once?daily, two?drug HIV regimen — a new, non?INSTI option that could add to Merck’s infectious?disease franchise and incremental drug revenue. FDA Approves Merck’s Once-Daily IDVYNSO™ (doravirine/islatravir)
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports indicate Merck and other large drugmakers are exploring deals for Inhibrx’s experimental cancer drug tied to Keytruda; strategic interest could become M&A upside but is speculative at this stage. Exclusive: Merck, rivals eye deal in Inhibrx experimental cancer drug tied to Keytruda, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck launched a first bio?based solvent portfolio for HPLC and is noted among companies with candidates in the expanding polycythemia vera market — small commercial/ESG positives but unlikely to move the stock materially near term. Merck Launches First Bio-Based Solvent Portfolio for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
• Negative Sentiment: Merck and Eisai announced that a Keytruda?based triplet therapy failed to meet primary endpoints in the Phase 3 LITESPARK?012 trial for first?line advanced renal cell carcinoma — a clinical setback that has weighed on sentiment and explains recent intraday weakness. MRK Down as Triplet Therapy Fails to Meet Goal in Kidney Cancer Study

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.