Bessemer Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,527,844 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,142 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $128,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck reported Q4 results that beat estimates (EPS $2.04 vs. ~$2.01; revenue $16.4B vs. ~$16.2B), showing solid sales growth and margin strength — a primary short-term bullish catalyst. Merck Trading Higher on Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its target on MRK, citing continued execution across the business — supports analyst-driven buying. Scotiabank Lifts Merck Target
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo bumped its target to $135 and kept an overweight stance (largest upside among recent upgrades), giving a meaningful analyst tailwind for the stock. Wells Fargo Raises Merck Target
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement: Jim Cramer flagged MRK as one of his favorite pharma stocks, which can spur retail interest and intraday buying momentum. Jim Cramer on Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi and Cantor Fitzgerald nudged targets to ~$120 but maintained neutral ratings — modest upside only, so limited incremental impact on momentum. Analyst Target Changes via Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Management struck a cautious tone on 2026 outlook despite the beat; the guidance language and conservative near-term commentary could cap upside until clarity on growth drivers. Merck Beats Estimates but Cautious on 2026

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $119.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $122.43. The company has a market capitalization of $296.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.85.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

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.