Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.85 on April 7th

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.85 per share on Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th.

Merck & Co., Inc. has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Merck & Co., Inc. has a payout ratio of 35.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Merck & Co., Inc. to earn $9.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.61 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after buying an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after buying an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% during the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,181,000 after acquiring an additional 99,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.