Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Raised to $145.00

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 15th, 2026

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.92.

View Our Latest Research Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $147.47 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.01 and a 52 week high of $156.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $363.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total value of $1,539,939.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 110,167 shares in the company, valued at $14,501,282.21. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,858,938,000 after buying an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,210,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783,482 shares during the period. Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,206,000. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12,130.3% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,068,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,806,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051,475 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is 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: Keytruda and pipeline catalysts support Q3 optimism. Continued Keytruda sales growth, expanded indications and newer launches could help Merck exceed third-quarter expectations. Will Keytruda Continue to Aid Merck’s Top Line in Q3 Earnings?
Positive Sentiment: Oncology pipeline data is an important longer-term catalyst. Merck plans to present first-time pivotal Phase 3 results from three studies and more than 90 additional abstracts at ESMO 2026, potentially providing evidence of growth opportunities as Keytruda eventually faces biosimilar pressure. Merck ESMO 2026 Oncology Pipeline Announcement
Positive Sentiment: Management sounded constructive on the Moderna cancer vaccine partnership. CEO Rob Davis said manufacturing of the personalized cancer vaccine should become faster and more efficient as Merck and Moderna refine the complex production process. Merck CEO Discusses Cancer Vaccine Manufacturing
Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners initiated or reiterated a Buy rating on Merck, adding favorable analyst sentiment. Merck Gets a Buy Rating from Leerink Partners

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Get Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.