Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

13 Dec 2025, 14:44 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,609,067 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,590,438 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.26% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $523,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $721,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.5% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 90,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,141,000 after purchasing an additional 15,452 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 35,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 4,513,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,077,000 after purchasing an additional 264,668 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $100.33 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.50.

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