Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) SVP Sells $765,888.00 in Stock

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) SVP Dalton Smart III sold 6,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.67, for a total transaction of $765,888.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,892.35. This trade represents a 43.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $121.92 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $302.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $106.58 and a 200-day moving average of $93.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $122.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.53.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped estimates (EPS and revenue) and management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $5.00–$5.15 while citing growth drivers such as Keytruda, Animal Health and new drug launches — a near-term earnings beat that supports upside. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target from $122 to $140 and kept a Buy rating, giving analysts’ support to the rally and indicating ~15% further upside from recent levels. Guggenheim PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Other broker notes are bullish — Citigroup and Scotiabank published favorable outlooks/target increases highlighting execution and price appreciation potential. Citigroup Forecast Scotiabank Lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks flags a “subdued” 2026 outlook driven by acquisition-related charges, which mutes the beat; but it still points to Keytruda, Animal Health and new launches as the primary growth levers — a mixed read on near-term margin/earnings progression. Zacks Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Robert M. Davis sold ~47,434 shares, CFO Caroline Litchfield ~41,997 shares, EVP Richard Deluca ~37,685 shares, CMO Chirfi Guindo ~20,000 and multiple other senior executives also trimmed positions — large, coordinated filings that may weigh on sentiment despite corporate explanations (e.g., diversification or tax/planned sales). SEC filings: CEO Form 4 CFO Form 4 EVP Form 4

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.