Ossiam Has $12.56 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Ossiam lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 41.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,617 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106,463 shares during the period. Ossiam’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after buying an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% in the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,181,000 after purchasing an additional 99,074 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More 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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 worth $38,281,735 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.81.

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.