Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP Richard Deluca Sells 12,837 Shares

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP Richard Deluca sold 12,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.76, for a total value of $1,691,403.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 121,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,057,064.16. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded up $2.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.10. The company had a trading volume of 9,894,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,707,019. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $328.38 billion, a PE ratio of 106.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.58 and a 12 month high of $135.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $124.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The company’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. On average, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 272.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,296,000 after acquiring an additional 32,114 shares in the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 11,355 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,022,000 after purchasing an additional 320,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.50.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa upgraded Merck to “outperform” and set a $143 price target, implying additional upside from recent trading levels. Finviz analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target to $145 and reiterated a “buy” rating, adding to the positive analyst momentum around MRK. Benzinga analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group increased its FY2026 earnings estimate to $2.75 per share from $2.70, bringing its forecast close to the $2.76 consensus estimate. MarketBeat earnings estimate
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA and EMA accepted applications to expand ENFLONSIA for RSV prevention in additional high-risk young children. The regulatory milestone could broaden Merck’s growth opportunities beyond oncology and help diversify its portfolio as Keytruda faces future patent challenges. Merck ENFLONSIA regulatory news
• Positive Sentiment: Merck’s latest results included $16.61 billion in revenue, above analyst expectations, with oncology and animal health contributing to performance. The company also continues to attract institutional ownership, which exceeds 76%. Merck earnings call transcript

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.