86,836 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Purchased by NBT Bank N.A.

NBT Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 86,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 15,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. Carter Financial Group INC. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $270,000. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 171,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,849,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JSF Financial LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 14,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.92.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported Phase 3 INTerpath-001 results showing that intismeran autogene combined with KEYTRUDA reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42%, while also improving distant metastasis-free survival. The data met market expectations and could support a future expansion of Merck’s oncology pipeline beyond KEYTRUDA. Moderna, Merck shares fall on eagerly anticipated cancer vaccine results
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved KEYTRUDA plus Padcev as perioperative treatment for adults with resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The wider label expands the addressable market for Merck’s leading oncology franchise and may help offset future pressure from slowing KEYTRUDA growth. European Commission approves KEYTRUDA plus Padcev
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading activity included approximately 37,444 MRK call options, about 40% above average daily volume, indicating increased speculative interest but not establishing a clear direction for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: An apparent early leak of the melanoma-vaccine data caused volatility and appears to have prompted profit-taking. Investors may have expected a larger-than-reported benefit despite the statistically and clinically positive results, creating a sell-the-news response ahead of the formal ESMO presentation. Moderna, Merck shares fall after possible melanoma data leak
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect Merck’s upcoming third-quarter earnings to decline, limiting near-term enthusiasm and reinforcing concerns about moderating KEYTRUDA growth. Zacks also reportedly downgraded MRK from “hold” to “strong sell,” adding pressure to sentiment.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $147.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.92, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.01 and a one year high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,501,282.21. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.