Howard Capital Management Group LLC Sells 7,928 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Howard Capital Management Group LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 303,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,928 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 2.0% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,112 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in 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. Amundi increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 16,532,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,363,480,000 after buying an additional 3,454,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,877,000 after buying an additional 2,735,459 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Barclays began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.13.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: European Commission approves KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) plus paclitaxel ± bevacizumab for PD-L1 (CPS ≥1) platinum‑resistant recurrent ovarian carcinoma — this is the first PD‑1‑based option for this patient group in the EU, which can expand KEYTRUDA’s label-driven revenue in gynecologic oncology. European Commission Approves KEYTRUDA
• Positive Sentiment: Merck initiates a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial of MK‑8748 (Tiespectus) for neovascular (wet) age‑related macular degeneration — a deliberate move into ophthalmology with a novel bispecific Tie2 agonist/VEGF inhibitor that could create a new non‑oncology growth vector if successful. Merck Announces Initiation of Pivotal Phase 2b/3 Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Merck reports positive Phase 3 CORALreef AddOn results for enlicitide decanoate, an investigational once‑daily oral PCSK9 inhibitor — an oral PCSK9 would address a large cardiovascular market and could be a major new revenue stream if regulatory/launch paths succeed. Merck Reports Strong Phase 3 Results for Oral PCSK9
• Positive Sentiment: Detailed Phase 2 CADENCE results for WINREVAIR were released, supporting safety/efficacy progress in respiratory therapy development — incremental pipeline upside but likely a smaller near‑term revenue impact versus KEYTRUDA or PCSK9. Merck Announces Detailed Results From the Phase 2 CADENCE Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Merck KGaA completed acquisition of JSR Life Sciences’ chromatography business — relevant to the life‑science tools space but this involves Merck KGaA (Darmstadt), not Merck & Co. Limited immediate direct impact on MRK fundamentals. Merck KGaA acquires JSR chromatography
• Neutral Sentiment: Expanded/ongoing collaborations (e.g., Tempus AI mentions) and smaller partner deals referenced in the newsflow — supportive for research/data capabilities but not material near‑term revenue drivers. Assessing Tempus AI Valuation After ALERT Cardiology Trial Results And Expanded Merck Collaboration
• Negative Sentiment: Sector policy risk: Lilly CEO warned against locking drug‑pricing deals into law, arguing it could harm long‑term innovation — renewed pricing/policy debates can pressure valuation multiples across big pharma, including MRK. Lilly Pushes Back on Making Drug Price Deals Permanent

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $120.62 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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.