Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading 1.8% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded up 1.8% during trading on Friday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $122.00 to $140.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Merck & Co., Inc. traded as high as $122.66 and last traded at $121.92. 13,033,722 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 14,112,871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.75.

MRK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.53.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, VP Dean Y. Li sold 15,087 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.77, for a total transaction of $1,791,882.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 102,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,146,607.90. The trade was a 12.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 188,603 shares of company stock worth $22,612,212. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped estimates (EPS and revenue) and management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $5.00–$5.15 while citing growth drivers such as Keytruda, Animal Health and new drug launches — a near-term earnings beat that supports upside. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target from $122 to $140 and kept a Buy rating, giving analysts’ support to the rally and indicating ~15% further upside from recent levels. Guggenheim PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Other broker notes are bullish — Citigroup and Scotiabank published favorable outlooks/target increases highlighting execution and price appreciation potential. Citigroup Forecast Scotiabank Lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks flags a “subdued” 2026 outlook driven by acquisition-related charges, which mutes the beat; but it still points to Keytruda, Animal Health and new launches as the primary growth levers — a mixed read on near-term margin/earnings progression. Zacks Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Robert M. Davis sold ~47,434 shares, CFO Caroline Litchfield ~41,997 shares, EVP Richard Deluca ~37,685 shares, CMO Chirfi Guindo ~20,000 and multiple other senior executives also trimmed positions — large, coordinated filings that may weigh on sentiment despite corporate explanations (e.g., diversification or tax/planned sales). SEC filings: CEO Form 4 CFO Form 4 EVP Form 4

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $302.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $106.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.15.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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.