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 stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,303. This trade represents a 24.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $128.61. 6,425,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,766,726. The stock has a market cap of $317.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $77.58 and a one year high of $135.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.04.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.72 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 272.00%.

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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average 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.