3,607 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Choreo LLC

Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,677 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,607 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,573,754,000 after buying an additional 1,087,583 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 valued at $11,083,033,000 after buying an additional 1,934,312 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position 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 valued at $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after buying an additional 2,969,856 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $146.32 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.01 and a 12 month high of $156.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $146.89 and its 200-day moving average is $126.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $360.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.05, a PEG ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.12.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,303. This trade represents a 24.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Beat-and-raise results supported the stock. Merck lifted its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook, helped by better performance from Keytruda—including the newer Qlex formulation—and recently launched products. The company’s sales forecast was raised to approximately $66.8 billion-$67.3 billion. MRK Q3 earnings and sales beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Growth from newer products is helping offset longer-term patent concerns. WINREVAIR revenue rose sharply, reaching about $694 million, while Keytruda and Qlex sales remained resilient. Investors are looking for these products to reduce Merck’s dependence on Keytruda before its expected patent-related erosion later in the decade. Merck revenue up on Keytruda and Winrevair growth
• Positive Sentiment: Oncology pipeline news improved Merck’s growth narrative. Phase 3 data showed KEYTRUDA reduced the risk of disease progression in advanced endometrial cancer, while sacituzumab tirumotecan produced positive late-stage results and received FDA priority review. These developments could expand Merck’s future cancer franchise if approvals and commercialization succeed. Merck Phase 3 endometrial cancer data and FDA review
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term revenue quality remains mixed. Management indicated that roughly $550 million of quarterly sales benefited from customer-purchase timing, suggesting underlying growth was closer to flat. Merck also warned of generic-drug headwinds in 2027, making pipeline execution increasingly important.
• Negative Sentiment: Patent-cliff and legal risks remain overhangs. Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity remains the central long-term concern, and a law firm announced an investigation into potential securities-law violations related to an October 22 disclosure. No wrongdoing has been established.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.