Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 256,688 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,426,693 shares of the company’s stock after selling 256,688 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.14% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $284,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

MRK stock opened at $115.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.20 and a 200-day moving average of $98.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’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 anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.