Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,727 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,870 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. DLD Asset Management LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $113.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $280.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.01.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted that Keytruda drove Merck’s strong first-quarter sales, with revenue topping expectations and sales around $8 billion, reinforcing the drug’s importance to MRK’s 2026 growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck said it will present new long-term oncology data and more than 100 abstracts at ASCO 2026, which could keep investor focus on the strength of its cancer portfolio and pipeline. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck broadened KEYTRUDA collaboration efforts with partners including Erasca and Inhibrx, signaling continued pipeline development around combination therapies as the company prepares for eventual patent-expiry pressure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One analyst reinstated Merck with a “Neutral” rating and a $125 price target, suggesting the stock may be fairly valued near current levels rather than clearly undervalued or overvalued. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A valuation-focused article noted mixed recent share performance, including short-term weakness despite strong longer-term returns, which may be tempering enthusiasm even as fundamentals remain solid. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.