Insider Selling: Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP Sells 52,847 Shares of Stock

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2%

MRK traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $128.61. 6,425,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,766,726. The stock has a market cap of $317.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.58 and a fifty-two week high of $135.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.04.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. High Note Wealth LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.56.

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.