Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Sells 17,121 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 14th, 2026

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 61.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,684 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,121 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 15,636 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,918,000 after purchasing an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

Positive Sentiment: The FDA expanded approval for Merck’s Keytruda, in combination with Pfizer’s Padcev, for use in muscle-invasive bladder cancer regardless of cisplatin eligibility, potentially expanding the market opportunity for one of Merck’s most important cancer drugs. FDA Expands MRK & PFE’s Keytruda-Padcev Combo Use in Bladder Cancer
Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan, BMO Capital Markets, and Guggenheim all raised their price targets on Merck and maintained bullish ratings, signaling improved Wall Street confidence in MRK’s upside. Analyst price target updates
Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighting Merck as a bargain and the stock’s recent attention in the S&P 500 focus list may be adding to investor optimism around the shares. Merck (MRK) Stock Looks Like A Bargain At This Price
Neutral Sentiment: There was also discussion of Merck’s Januvia/Janumet franchise as a benchmark in a generic drug partnership story, but this appears to be more contextual than a direct new catalyst for MRK today. Cosmos Health Accelerates Prescription Medicine Strategy…
Negative Sentiment: Retail chatter continues to focus on Merck’s looming Keytruda patent cliff, which remains a longer-term risk even as near-term news flow is positive. SLS Vs MLTX: Retail Traders Race To Pick Merck’s Next Biotech Buyout…

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $123.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $306.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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.