Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 1,406,091 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,029,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,406,091 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $86,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. This represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $123.45 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.49. The company has a market cap of $305.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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 currently 46.70%.

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.