Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F 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 modified their holdings of the business. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 8,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded 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 note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $123.45 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $112.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.