Talon Private Wealth LLC Invests $995,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

11 Sep 2026, 19:07 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the second quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 3,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,073,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,403,000 after purchasing an additional 227,589 shares during the last quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $1,478,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 5,791,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,244,000 after buying an additional 29,696 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

Positive Sentiment: HSBC raised its price target for Merck (MRK) from $150 to $172 and maintained a “Buy” rating, implying substantial upside from the recent share price. Benzinga analyst update
Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim also increased its Merck price target to $170, reinforcing the view that the company’s pipeline, newer medicines and potential cancer-drug combinations can support growth beyond Keytruda. Guggenheim increases Merck price target
Positive Sentiment: Merck is expanding its development pipeline and commercial portfolio to reduce reliance on Keytruda ahead of its 2028 patent and exclusivity challenges. This provides a longer-term growth narrative, although execution and successful launches remain important. Merck pipeline and new drugs
Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s stock attracted significant investor attention, but the coverage offers limited new fundamental information. Separately, broader pharmaceutical discussion highlighted manufacturing hurdles for personalized cancer vaccines and risks surrounding confidential industry information. Merck and cancer-vaccine risks
Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Merck’s valuation looks demanding relative to its growth rate and to faster-growing peers such as Eli Lilly. Those concerns, combined with the future Keytruda revenue gap, likely contributed to the recent weakness despite higher analyst targets. Merck valuation versus Eli Lilly

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

In other news, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This trade represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total value of $2,710,857.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares in the company, valued at $17,569,312.29. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $142.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. HSBC lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.32.

View Our Latest Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $144.02. The stock had a trading volume of 8,677,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,743,099. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.26. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.58 and a 52 week high of $156.92. The stock has a market cap of $355.33 billion, a PE ratio of 115.22, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures, and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets worldwide through its Human Health and Animal Health businesses.

Merck’s pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious disease, cardiology, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Its products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat various cancers; Gardasil, a vaccine that helps protect against human papillomavirus (HPV); and Januvia, a treatment for type 2 diabetes.