Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Keybank National Association OH

Keybank National Association OH reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 833,279 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,954 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $121,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $11,470,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,578,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,931,000 after purchasing an additional 51,393 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 99,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,073,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,403,000 after purchasing an additional 227,589 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,184,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,577,000 after purchasing an additional 402,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck reported positive Phase 2b results for efinopegdutide in patients with MASH and moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis. The investigational drug could broaden Merck’s future growth opportunities, though it remains in clinical development. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Merck started a Phase 3 trial of OHTUVAYRE for COPD maintenance and said the FDA granted priority review to sacituzumab tirumotecan for endometrial cancer. Progress across these programs could support its pipeline, although neither development guarantees commercial success. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: A dividend-stock comparison notes that Merck and Gilead raised their 2026 sales outlooks after third-quarter results. It offers limited new company-specific information about MRK beyond that update. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported FDA approval of PIMJETMI (pimicotinib) concerns Merck KGaA, the Germany-based company—not Merck & Co. (MRK)—so it should not be treated as a direct catalyst for MRK. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary warns that 2027 growth could be pressured by generic competition, weaker vaccine demand and slowing Keytruda growth. Those risks may weigh on near-term expectations, even as Merck’s expanding pipeline offers longer-term potential. Article

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,942,755. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $148.00 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.26 and a 12-month high of $156.92. The company has a market cap of $364.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.