Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jul 11th, 2026

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,322,654 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,967 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.8% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $159,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after acquiring an additional 5,152,069 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1%

MRK opened at $123.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $130.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.72.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.