Independence Bank of Kentucky Sells 4,030 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Independence Bank of Kentucky lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,740 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,030 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,012,530,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,152,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 985.4% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,969,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603,769 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the firm’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 approximately $17,569,312.29. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $149.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $369.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.58 and a 12-month high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The business had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 272.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Guggenheim increased 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.60.

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.