Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Czech National Bank

18 Dec 2025, 04:52 by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 3.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 634,385 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,600 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $53,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.00.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:MRK opened at $99.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $246.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $92.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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