Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,498,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112,150 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $125,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at $9,825,356.20. This represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying: traders bought ~672,962 call options on Friday (a ~1,339% jump vs. typical daily call volume), signaling heavy bullish speculation or hedging interest that can lift near-term implied volatility and upside pressure on MRK shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Phase 3 WELIREG data and regulatory filings deepen Merck’s oncology growth story — new Phase 3 results for belzutifan (WELIREG) combos with KEYTRUDA or LENVIMA show meaningful improvement in RCC; FDA filings with priority reviews/PDUFA dates for 2026 could expand label and revenue runway. Merck’s WELIREG Kidney Cancer Trials Deepen Oncology Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target raises: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $150 and assigned an overweight rating, and Leerink lifted its target as well — both moves increase institutional demand signals and implied upside for MRK. Benzinga Leerink Raises Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital maintains a Buy rating, reinforcing analyst support and potentially bolstering demand from long-only managers. RBC Capital Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Merck & Company (MRK)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish price commentary: coverage and price-target pieces (e.g., 247WallStreet) argue broader upside (some scenarios to $150) based on drug pipeline potential, supporting a favorable narrative among momentum investors. Merck Price Prediction: Sac-TMT Drug Potential Pushes MRK to $150
• Neutral Sentiment: Market report on Ovidrel/Ovitrelle highlights expanding fertility market opportunities that could be a modest long-term tailwind for related Merck products, but it’s not an immediate revenue catalyst. Ovidrel or Ovitrelle Market Research Report 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Misc. coverage items (e.g., stock-picking lists and unrelated biotech moves) mention MRK in broader contexts but are unlikely to materially move the stock on their own. 1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves Some Love and 2 We Avoid ImmunityBio Stock Soars 295% YTD

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $285.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $115.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

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.