Short Interest in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Decreases By 14.6%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 28,729,402 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the January 15th total of 33,654,686 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,072,510 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,072,510 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction 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 $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% in the fourth 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. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,898,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,558,218. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $123.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.71.

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.