Bank of America Corp DE Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.25% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $3,701,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,918,000 after acquiring an additional 359,356 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.50.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $150 from $140 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying roughly 15% upside from the referenced price. The increase reflects continued confidence in Merck’s outlook. Barclays raises Merck price target
• Positive Sentiment: KEYTRUDA met its primary progression-free-survival endpoint in a Phase 3 trial for advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, outperforming platinum-based chemotherapy. Merck said the result could support future regulatory filings and strengthen its oncology pipeline. Merck KEYTRUDA endometrial cancer trial
• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced its fourth-quarter 2026 dividend, reinforcing the stock’s appeal to income-oriented investors and signaling continued capital-return support. The provided announcement did not include the dividend amount or payment details. Merck fourth-quarter dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated its Buy rating, while broader brokerage coverage places Merck at a “Moderate Buy” consensus, indicating generally favorable but not universally bullish sentiment. Wells Fargo maintains Merck Buy rating
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect Merck’s second-quarter earnings to decline, and a Zacks preview says the company lacks the typical signals associated with a likely earnings beat. This raises near-term execution risk ahead of the earnings report. Merck second-quarter earnings preview

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

MRK stock opened at $130.45 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $77.53 and a one year high of $135.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $122.73 and its 200 day moving average is $118.24. The firm has a market cap of $322.18 billion, a PE ratio of 36.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.