Trek Financial LLC Buys 34,028 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Posted by Geri Gentry on Nov 2nd, 2026

Trek Financial LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 396.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,611 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,028 shares during the quarter. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Freedom Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the third quarter. True Freedom Investing LLC now owns 57,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,352,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Group LLC IL acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $263,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 6,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 94,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,768,000 after buying an additional 13,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.2% during the third quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $149.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.38, a PEG ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $146.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.01 and a 12-month high of $156.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. HSBC boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.48.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.