Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 13,216 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Central Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 31.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,470 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,216 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $115.65 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.94 and a 200-day moving average of $101.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $285.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,759,460.58. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.