Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Holdings Decreased by GFS Advisors LLC

GFS Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 39.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,355 shares during the quarter. GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during 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 during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $119.54 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $116.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck and Gilead reported positive Phase 3 results for their once-weekly HIV regimen islatravir/lenacapavir, meeting the primary efficacy endpoint in both studies and moving the program closer to regulatory filings. Article: Gilead and Merck Announce Positive Topline Results From Two Phase 3 Studies Evaluating Islatravir/Lenacapavir, an Oral Once-Weekly HIV Treatment
• Positive Sentiment: The HIV data could strengthen Merck’s long-term pipeline and add a potential new growth driver if the once-weekly treatment wins approval and commercialization proceeds as expected. Article: Gilead, Merck Report Positive Phase III HIV Study Data, End NSCLC Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck also presented at the Goldman Sachs 47th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, which typically reinforces management’s strategy and pipeline commentary but does not by itself change fundamentals. Article: Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Presents at Goldman Sachs 47th Annual Global Healthcare Conference 2026 Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s collaboration with The Hashgraph Group on an EU digital product passport for regulated supply chains is strategically interesting, but it is unlikely to have a near-term material impact on earnings. Article: The Hashgraph Group and Merck Introduce EU Digital Product Passport on Hedera for Regulated Supply Chains
• Negative Sentiment: Merck and Gilead discontinued a Phase 3 non-small cell lung cancer study after it failed to show a statistically significant benefit, which removes one potential oncology catalyst and highlights clinical risk in the pipeline. Article: Merck and Gilead Provide Update on Phase 3 KEYNOTE-D46/EVOKE-03 Study
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also reported Merck is exploring treatment options for a rare Ebola strain, which may reflect additional research effort but could carry uncertainty around development timing and commercial value. Article: Merck (MRK) Explores Treatment Options for Rare Ebola Strain, Reuters Reports

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.