11,907 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Acquired by Great Lakes Retirement Inc.

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,169,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,573,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,583 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,083,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934,312 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $141.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $347.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.83, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $147.01 and a 200 day moving average of $126.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.01 and a fifty-two week high of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck’s KEYTRUDA reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 43% in a Phase 3 endometrial-cancer trial. The result strengthens the company’s oncology franchise and could support future label expansion and revenue growth. Merck’s KEYTRUDA Cuts Progression Risk By 43% In Phase 3 Endometrial Cancer Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Additional oncology readouts, including positive results from the Moderna-partnered melanoma vaccine and other cancer treatments, are providing fresh support for Merck’s pipeline and long-term growth prospects. Merck Gains Fresh Oncology Backing As Valuation Debate Heats Up
• Positive Sentiment: Broker commentary remains broadly constructive, with Barclays forecasting significant appreciation potential and other analysts highlighting KEYTRUDA demand and new-drug growth ahead of the earnings release. Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck is scheduled to report third-quarter results before the market opens on October 29. Investors are focused on KEYTRUDA sales, full-year guidance and management’s outlook for the pipeline. Dear Merck Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for October 29
• Neutral Sentiment: The Moderna-Merck melanoma vaccine cut recurrence risk by 42% in a Phase 3 trial, but the outcome reportedly fell short of investor expectations, limiting its immediate effect on MRK. Merck and Moderna’s Cancer Vaccine Worked
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings concerns include difficult year-over-year comparisons, declining earnings estimates, weaker Gardasil demand and looming patent exposure. These factors could offset strong KEYTRUDA performance and increase volatility around the report. Is Merck Stock a Buy, Sell or Hold Ahead of Q3 Earnings?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.