Insight Wealth Strategies LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

17 Dec 2025, 11:17 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 57,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,802,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.00.

View Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $98.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.75. The stock has a market cap of $243.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)