Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by First Horizon Corp

First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 38.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 160,464 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,269 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,731,018,000 after purchasing an additional 359,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck’s KEYTRUDA franchise got a boost from recent U.S. and EU approvals in breast and bladder cancer, expanding its use in hard-to-treat tumors and strengthening the company’s oncology growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck also reached a new access agreement for its HIV treatment, IDVYNSO, which could modestly improve market access and commercial momentum for the product. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive on Merck, including recent price-target increases from RBC and Wells Fargo, reflecting confidence in the company’s pipeline and KEYTRUDA-driven earnings power. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck has been attracting elevated investor attention, but the related coverage is more about monitoring the stock’s setup than a new business catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A market report on Southeast Asia oncology drug access listed Merck among peer companies, highlighting the broader opportunity for cancer therapy access but not pointing to a company-specific development. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target to $113 and kept an equal-weight rating, signaling limited near-term upside from current levels and reinforcing valuation caution. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $125.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $309.14 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.19. 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 50 day moving average price is $118.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.23. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $130.29.

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 company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last 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. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.72.

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.