Chirfi Guindo Sells 15,000 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $128.61. 6,425,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,766,726. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.58 and a twelve month high of $135.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $123.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.04. The stock has a market cap of $317.64 billion, a PE ratio of 102.89, a PEG ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,983,000 after acquiring an additional 5,152,069 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.