Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jul 13th, 2026

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 960,714 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 40,289 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.0% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $115,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $378,000. Moment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.6% in the first quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.7% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 295,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,558,000 after buying an additional 23,719 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.4% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 45,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 11,324 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% in the first quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 39,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,709,000 after acquiring an additional 9,999 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.72.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $123.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $305.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $130.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(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.