Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 422,266 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,370,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 422,266 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $176,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. High Note Wealth LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This trade represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $148.30 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.58 and a 12-month high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 272.00%.

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.