Insider Selling: Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP Sells $2,710,857.12 in Stock

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP Richard Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $2,710,857.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,569,312.29. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $133.10. 9,894,503 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,707,019. The firm has a market cap of $328.38 billion, a PE ratio of 106.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.66 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152,069 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa upgraded Merck to “outperform” and set a $143 price target, implying additional upside from recent trading levels. Finviz analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target to $145 and reiterated a “buy” rating, adding to the positive analyst momentum around MRK. Benzinga analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group increased its FY2026 earnings estimate to $2.75 per share from $2.70, bringing its forecast close to the $2.76 consensus estimate. MarketBeat earnings estimate
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA and EMA accepted applications to expand ENFLONSIA for RSV prevention in additional high-risk young children. The regulatory milestone could broaden Merck’s growth opportunities beyond oncology and help diversify its portfolio as Keytruda faces future patent challenges. Merck ENFLONSIA regulatory news
• Positive Sentiment: Merck’s latest results included $16.61 billion in revenue, above analyst expectations, with oncology and animal health contributing to performance. The company also continues to attract institutional ownership, which exceeds 76%. Merck earnings call transcript

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.50.

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.