Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Ownership
MRK ownership summary
as of October 18, 2026- Institutions
- 82.9% of shares outstanding
- Insiders
- 0.06% of shares outstanding
- Shares outstanding
- 2.47B
- Float
- 2.46B shares available to trade
- Short interest
- 1.15% 28.3M shares short
- Days to cover
- 2.88 short interest down 6.7% vs prior month
- Institutions 82.94%
- Insiders 0.06%
- Other investors 17.01%
MRK top institutional holders
20 largest| # | Holder | % of shares | Shares | Value | Change | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BlackRock Inc | 9.20% | 227.0M | $33.13B | +1.2M (+0.5%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 2 | Vanguard Capital Management, LLC | 6.54% | 161.3M | $23.55B | +335,550 (+0.2%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 3 | State Street Corp | 4.88% | 120.4M | $17.57B | +1.1M (+0.9%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 4 | Wellington Management Company LLP | 3.50% | 86.2M | $12.59B | +1.9M (+2.3%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 5 | Vanguard Portfolio Management, LLC | 2.75% | 67.7M | $9.89B | +434,664 (+0.6%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 6 | Geode Capital Management, LLC | 2.46% | 60.7M | $8.87B | +1.2M (+2.0%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 7 | Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc | 2.20% | 54.4M | $7.93B | +4.6M (+9.2%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 8 | Morgan Stanley - Brokerage Accounts | 1.97% | 48.6M | $7.10B | +1.0M (+2.1%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 9 | FMR Inc | 1.84% | 45.4M | $6.63B | +924,345 (+2.1%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 10 | JPMorgan Chase & Co | 1.78% | 43.9M | $6.41B | −9.1M (−17.2%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 11 | Fisher Asset Management, LLC | 1.56% | 38.5M | $5.62B | +12.1M (+45.7%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 12 | NORGES BANK | 1.50% | 37.0M | $5.40B | −997,718 (−2.6%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 13 | Bank of America Corp | 1.24% | 30.5M | $4.46B | −239,013 (−0.8%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 14 | Northern Trust Corp | 1.06% | 26.3M | $3.83B | −814,305 (−3.0%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 15 | The Goldman Sachs Group Inc | 0.89% | 22.1M | $3.22B | +1.9M (+9.6%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 16 | Franklin Templeton Inc | 0.79% | 19.5M | $2.85B | +3.3M (+20.2%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 17 | UBS Asset Mgmt Americas Inc | 0.79% | 19.5M | $2.85B | −867,648 (−4.3%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 18 | Legal & General Group PLC | 0.77% | 18.9M | $2.75B | −665,202 (−3.4%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 19 | Amvescap Plc. | 0.75% | 18.6M | $2.72B | −3.2M (−14.8%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 20 | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | 0.75% | 18.5M | $2.70B | −4.5M (−19.6%) | June 30, 2026 |
Value at the latest close. Change = shares bought or sold in the latest quarterly filing (13F). In the top 20, 12 holders added 30.0M shares and 8 cut 20.4M.
MRK top mutual fund and ETF holders
20 largest| # | Holder | % of shares | Shares | Value | Change | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanguard MStar Total Stk Mkt Idx Invest | 3.18% | 78.5M | $11.46B | −152,267 (−0.2%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 2 | Vanguard 500 Index Investor | 2.63% | 64.8M | $9.46B | −814,877 (−1.2%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 3 | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 1.33% | 32.9M | $4.80B | −52,910 (−0.2%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 4 | Fidelity 500 Index | 1.30% | 32.1M | $4.68B | +123,135 (+0.4%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 5 | Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF™ | 1.23% | 30.3M | $4.42B | +83,904 (+0.3%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 6 | State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF | 1.23% | 30.3M | $4.42B | — | September 30, 2026 |
| 7 | Vanguard MStar Value Index Investor | 0.95% | 23.5M | $3.43B | −106,289 (−0.5%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 8 | Vanguard Health Care Inv | 0.74% | 18.3M | $2.67B | +516,500 (+2.9%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 9 | State Street®HlthCrSelSectSPDR®ETF | 0.71% | 17.5M | $2.55B | +54,416 (+0.3%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 10 | Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | 0.57% | 14.0M | $2.04B | −22,348 (−0.2%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 11 | Vanguard Institutional Index I | 0.53% | 13.1M | $1.90B | −152,801 (−1.2%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 12 | Vanguard Equity-Income Inv | 0.50% | 12.4M | $1.81B | −778,310 (−5.9%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 13 | Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF | 0.41% | 10.1M | $1.47B | +27,605 (+0.3%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 14 | Vanguard Wellington Inv | 0.40% | 9.9M | $1.45B | −1.8M (−15.1%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 15 | American Funds Washington Mutual A | 0.36% | 8.9M | $1.30B | +702,380 (+8.5%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 16 | Vanguard Health Care ETF | 0.31% | 7.5M | $1.10B | +9,539 (+0.1%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 17 | Vanguard Dividend Growth Inv | 0.30% | 7.3M | $1.07B | +913,937 (+14.3%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 18 | Strategic Advisers Fidelity US TtlStk | 0.29% | 7.0M | $1.03B | +391,371 (+5.9%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 19 | JPMorgan Large Cap Growth I | 0.27% | 6.7M | $971.9M | — | August 31, 2026 |
| 20 | State Street® SPDR® Port S&P 500® ETF | 0.26% | 6.5M | $946.9M | −4,368 (−0.1%) | September 30, 2026 |
Funds report holdings monthly or quarterly; dates differ by fund.
MRK insider transactions
latest 18| Date | Name | Transaction | Price | Shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-10 | Ro Khanna | Buy | $117.14 | — | — |
| 2026-02-09 | Chirfi Guindo | Sell | $118.41 | 10,000 | $1.2M |
| 2026-02-09 | Jennifer Zachary | Sell | $119.15 | 121,573 | $14.5M |
| 2026-02-06 | David Michael Williams | Sell | $121.91 | 5,000 | $609,550 |
| 2026-02-06 | Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen | Sell | $121.87 | 15,000 | $1.8M |
| 2026-02-06 | Richard R Deluca | Sell | $120.92 | 37,685 | $4.6M |
| 2026-02-05 | Chirfi Guindo | Sell | $121.88 | 20,000 | $2.4M |
| 2026-02-04 | Dean Y Li | Sell | $118.77 | 15,087 | $1.8M |
| 2026-02-04 | Josh Gottheimer | Buy | $118.35 | — | — |
| 2026-02-04 | Robert M Davis | Sell | $118.04 | 47,434 | $5.6M |
| 2026-02-04 | Dalton E Smart III | Sell | $119.67 | 6,400 | $765,888 |
| 2026-02-04 | Caroline Litchfield | Sell | $119.61 | 41,997 | $5.0M |
| 2026-01-13 | Michael T. McCaul | Sell | $108.20 | — | — |
| 2025-12-19 | Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. | Buy | $100.92 | — | — |
| 2025-12-18 | Julie Johnson | Sell | $100.76 | — | — |
| 2025-11-18 | Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. | Buy | $96.61 | — | — |
| 2025-11-13 | Julie Johnson | Sell | $92.99 | — | — |
| 2025-11-03 | David Michael Williams | Sell | $83.59 | 8,614 | $720,044 |
Reported trades by company officers, directors and other filers (including disclosures by members of Congress where EODHD lists them). "—" where the filing gives no share count.
MRK shares outstanding
Year-end shares outstanding, adjusted for splits.
Who owns MRK
Institutional investors own 82.9% of Merck's shares and insiders 0.06%. The largest holder is BlackRock Inc with 9.20% of the shares (227.0M), as of June 30, 2026. Among the top 20 institutions, 12 added shares and 8 reduced their stake in the latest filings. Short interest is 1.15% of the float, or 2.88 days of average trading volume. The share count fell 13.6% since 2014.
Related: MRK analyst forecast, MRK key metrics, MRK dividend history. See the MRK stock overview for the latest quote and news.
MRK ownership FAQ
Who owns the most Merck stock?
The largest shareholders of Merck are BlackRock Inc (9.20%), Vanguard Capital Management, LLC (6.54%), State Street Corp (4.88%), Wellington Management Company LLP (3.50%), Vanguard Portfolio Management, LLC (2.75%).
What percentage of Merck is owned by institutions?
Institutions hold 82.9% of Merck's shares outstanding; insiders hold 0.06%.
Which funds own Merck?
The largest fund holders of Merck are Vanguard MStar Total Stk Mkt Idx Invest (3.18%), Vanguard 500 Index Investor (2.63%), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (1.33%), Fidelity 500 Index (1.30%), Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF™ (1.23%).
What is Merck's short interest?
28.3M shares of Merck were sold short, 1.15% of the float; at the average daily volume it would take 2.88 days to cover.
Are insiders buying or selling Merck?
Of the latest 18 reported insider transactions in Merck (since November 3, 2025), 4 were purchases and 14 were sales.
How many shares of Merck are outstanding?
Merck has 2.47B shares outstanding, of which 2.46B are in the public float.