Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.85 on July 8th

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of 0.85 per share on Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th.

Merck & Co., Inc. has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Merck & Co., Inc. has a payout ratio of 35.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Merck & Co., Inc. to earn $9.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.5%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $119.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $116.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after acquiring an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.