Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given New $120.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $118.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.39. The firm has a market cap of $293.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 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 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in 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 boosted its stake 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Merck reported $2.04 EPS and $16.4B revenue, driven by strong Keytruda demand and growth in newer products; the beat underpins confidence in current cash flows. Business Wire: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Large analyst upgrade: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $135 and moved to “overweight” (~14% upside vs. current levels), which likely helped buying interest today. TickerReport: Wells Fargo upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement: Jim Cramer flagged Merck as a favorite pharmaceutical name and spoke positively about its ability to “spread out the wealth,” providing retail-visible support. MSN: Jim Cramer on Merck
• Neutral Sentiment: Other price-target bumps but still “neutral” ratings — Cantor Fitzgerald and Citigroup raised targets to $120 but kept neutral stances (small upside), which offers modest support but no conviction change. Benzinga: PT raises
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcripts available — management emphasized Keytruda strength and pipeline progress; transcripts provide detail for investors modeling product-by-product risk/reward. Seeking Alpha: Q4 call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious 2026 outlook pressured sentiment — management guided FY26 adjusted EPS to $5.00–$5.15 (consensus ~5.86) and revenue to $65.5B–$67.0B (below Street), which sparked earlier selling and trims near-term growth expectations. Reuters: 2026 guidance & patent concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Patent expirations and generics risk — Januvia and other drugs face loss of exclusivity this year, and management flagged that impact; investors should model increased generic pressure into FY26 estimates. CNBC: generics & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term growth slowdown expected as Merck invests and pursues acquisitions — coverage notes management expects slower earnings growth as it spends on deals and navigates pipeline inflection points. WSJ: slower growth & acquisitions

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.