Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 7th, 2026

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 263.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,702,992 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,959,778 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $347,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 37,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,853,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 26,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% in the second quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC now owns 38,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,989,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the second quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 5,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.56.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target increase: Guggenheim raised its Merck price target from $145 to $146 and maintained a Buy rating, implying meaningful upside from the referenced share price. This reinforces positive Wall Street sentiment. Benzinga
Positive Sentiment: Keytruda gains another approval: Health Canada approved Keytruda with enfortumab vedotin for certain cisplatin-ineligible patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, expanding the drug’s use and potentially supporting sales before its major patent expirations. Health Canada approves Keytruda treatment
Positive Sentiment: Pipeline and post-Keytruda strategy: Merck’s second-quarter commentary highlighted new product launches, pipeline progress and efforts to diversify into areas including vaccines, infectious diseases, hematology, cardiopulmonary disease and obesity. The company also raised its 2026 sales outlook, improving confidence in near-term execution. MRK Q2 earnings call
Neutral Sentiment: Dividend comparison: Merck’s latest results have renewed debate over whether it offers a better income opportunity than Pfizer. The discussion may attract dividend-focused investors, but it does not represent a new company-specific catalyst. Pfizer or Merck dividend comparison
Negative Sentiment: Keytruda patent risk remains central: Keytruda is approaching a significant patent cliff beginning in 2028. Merck is accelerating acquisitions and partnerships to offset the eventual revenue decline, but those investments can pressure earnings and increase execution risk. Merck is racing beyond Keytruda
Negative Sentiment: Mixed pipeline development: Merck discontinued tulisokibart development in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease, although the drug continues to be evaluated in other indications. The setback highlights clinical-development risk as Merck builds its post-Keytruda portfolio. MSD anti-TL1A trial update

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.0%

MRK stock opened at $128.27 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $316.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.62, a PEG ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.58 and a fifty-two week high of $135.05. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The company had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 272.00%.

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.