Insider Selling: Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP Sells $6,805,108.19 in Stock

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This trade represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $128.61. 6,425,060 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,766,726. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $77.58 and a one year high of $135.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.89, a PEG ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.04.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 4.77%.The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 272.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.56.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.