Retirement Guys Formula LLC Has $335,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Retirement Guys Formula LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 69.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,228 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. This represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 Monday, April 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $121.41 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.83. The company has a market capitalization of $299.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.70%.

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.