Cullen Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,343,452 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,976 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 2.2% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $196,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Triglav Investments D.O.O. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.9% during the third quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. now owns 134,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,257,000 after buying an additional 46,410 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,246,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,654,000 after acquiring an additional 254,350 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 225,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,964,000 after purchasing an additional 34,243 shares in the last quarter. Payne Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $885,000. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $118.35 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $105.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.39. The company has a market cap of $293.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.28. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 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 Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

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.