Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Ibex Wealth Advisors

Posted by Stanley Muller on Jul 10th, 2026

Ibex Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,148 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,268 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.1% of Ibex Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

Positive Sentiment: Merck’s KEYTRUDA franchise got a boost from recent U.S. and EU approvals in breast and bladder cancer, expanding its use in hard-to-treat tumors and strengthening the company’s oncology growth story. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: Merck also reached a new access agreement for its HIV treatment, IDVYNSO, which could modestly improve market access and commercial momentum for the product. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive on Merck, including recent price-target increases from RBC and Wells Fargo, reflecting confidence in the company’s pipeline and KEYTRUDA-driven earnings power. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: Merck has been attracting elevated investor attention, but the related coverage is more about monitoring the stock’s setup than a new business catalyst. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: A market report on Southeast Asia oncology drug access listed Merck among peer companies, highlighting the broader opportunity for cancer therapy access but not pointing to a company-specific development. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target to $113 and kept an equal-weight rating, signaling limited near-term upside from current levels and reinforcing valuation caution. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.72.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $125.17 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $130.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.14 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.