Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Buys 73,614 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

26 Apr 2026, 09:46 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 271,888 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,614 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,112 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Positive Sentiment: Merck announced a multi‑year, enterprise‑wide partnership with Google Cloud to deploy Gemini AI and advanced cloud infrastructure for drug discovery, manufacturing and operations — a strategic move that could improve R&D productivity and long‑term margins. Read More. Read More.
Positive Sentiment: Merck won FDA Priority Review for KEYTRUDA regimens in muscle‑invasive bladder cancer — a potential near‑term upsid e for oncology revenue if approved, supporting key growth drivers beyond vaccines. Read More.
Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approval momentum: the company secured FDA approval for Idvynso (doravirine + islatravir) for HIV‑1 treatment, and is cited among defensive/counter‑cyclical stock picks — positives for investor sentiment and diversification of approved products. Read More.
Neutral Sentiment: Progress on M&A: the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino waiting period expired for Merck’s tender offer to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals, clearing an antitrust procedural hurdle and bringing the acquisition closer to closing — strategic but not immediately earnings‑material. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: Vaccines headwinds: reports highlight a sharp slump in Gardasil sales in China and Japan, which pressures MRK’s vaccines revenue into the upcoming Q1 results and raises downside risk to top‑line guidance if the trend persists. Read More. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: Analyst expectations: several analyst notes expect a decline in Q1 earnings and flag that Merck may lack the near‑term drivers for an earnings beat — this raises the risk of downside surprise and explains short‑term selling pressure. Read More. Read More.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $111.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $276.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.26. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $118.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.47.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(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.