Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.58.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $117.17 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.77 billion, a PE ratio of 130.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.9% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,058,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,980,000 after purchasing an additional 489,000 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 69.6% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $506,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $3,474,000. Finally, Lazari Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.