6,446 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Bought by Financial Planning Hawaii Inc.

Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.0% during the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 231,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,333,000 after buying an additional 49,210 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,192,000. Finally, Trustmark Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the second quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 13,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Late‑stage cholesterol pill delivered large LDL cuts (≈64.6%) and met its head‑to‑head primary endpoint — a potential new blockbuster oral option for lowering “bad” cholesterol that could materially diversify revenue beyond oncology. Merck’s drug reduced bad cholesterol by 64.6% in late-stage trial
• Positive Sentiment: Phase 2 CADENCE results for WINREVAIR (sotatercept-csrk) showed proof‑of‑concept in combined post‑ and precapillary pulmonary hypertension with HFpEF — opens a foothold in a hard heart‑failure segment and supports pipeline value. How Investors May Respond To Merck (MRK) WINREVAIR Phase 2 Success In Tough Heart Failure Segment
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” and a $142 price target — a sizable upside vs. current levels that can support investor confidence and buying interest. Benzinga coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail and media attention (e.g., Jim Cramer’s “stay the course” call) has driven momentum into Merck stock over recent months; that attention can amplify swings but is not a fundamental catalyst. Merck (MRK) Shares Up Significantly Since Jim Cramer Advised to “Stay the Course”
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry reports list Merck as a major player in the growing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma market — underscores long‑term TAM but not an immediate stock driver. Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (cSCC) Market Rises to $8.33 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: New FY2026 earnings estimates and coverage updates are circulating (Erste Group Bank note) — watch revisions for guidance confirmation versus management’s FY2026 EPS range. FY2026 Earnings Estimate for MRK Issued By Erste Group Bank
• Negative Sentiment: Analysis flags an upcoming Keytruda patent cliff and Merck’s aggressive M&A push to refill the revenue gap — a strategic risk that could pressure sentiment if deal execution or integration falls short. Merck: Aggressive M&A Efforts To Prepare For A Keytruda Patent Cliff

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MRK opened at $117.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $291.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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 expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 46.70%.

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.