West Branch Capital LLC Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

West Branch Capital LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 75.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,223 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,875 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. 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 stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.13.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: European Commission approves KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) plus paclitaxel ± bevacizumab for PD-L1 (CPS ≥1) platinum‑resistant recurrent ovarian carcinoma — this is the first PD‑1‑based option for this patient group in the EU, which can expand KEYTRUDA’s label-driven revenue in gynecologic oncology. European Commission Approves KEYTRUDA
• Positive Sentiment: Merck initiates a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial of MK‑8748 (Tiespectus) for neovascular (wet) age‑related macular degeneration — a deliberate move into ophthalmology with a novel bispecific Tie2 agonist/VEGF inhibitor that could create a new non‑oncology growth vector if successful. Merck Announces Initiation of Pivotal Phase 2b/3 Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Merck reports positive Phase 3 CORALreef AddOn results for enlicitide decanoate, an investigational once‑daily oral PCSK9 inhibitor — an oral PCSK9 would address a large cardiovascular market and could be a major new revenue stream if regulatory/launch paths succeed. Merck Reports Strong Phase 3 Results for Oral PCSK9
• Positive Sentiment: Detailed Phase 2 CADENCE results for WINREVAIR were released, supporting safety/efficacy progress in respiratory therapy development — incremental pipeline upside but likely a smaller near‑term revenue impact versus KEYTRUDA or PCSK9. Merck Announces Detailed Results From the Phase 2 CADENCE Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Merck KGaA completed acquisition of JSR Life Sciences’ chromatography business — relevant to the life‑science tools space but this involves Merck KGaA (Darmstadt), not Merck & Co. Limited immediate direct impact on MRK fundamentals. Merck KGaA acquires JSR chromatography
• Neutral Sentiment: Expanded/ongoing collaborations (e.g., Tempus AI mentions) and smaller partner deals referenced in the newsflow — supportive for research/data capabilities but not material near‑term revenue drivers. Assessing Tempus AI Valuation After ALERT Cardiology Trial Results And Expanded Merck Collaboration
• Negative Sentiment: Sector policy risk: Lilly CEO warned against locking drug‑pricing deals into law, arguing it could harm long‑term innovation — renewed pricing/policy debates can pressure valuation multiples across big pharma, including MRK. Lilly Pushes Back on Making Drug Price Deals Permanent

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $120.62 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $117.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.80. 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 firm has a market cap of $298.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.26. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.