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

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.58.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.4% in the second quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 53,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,616,000 after buying an additional 13,670 shares during the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 32,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,823 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 88.7% in the 2nd quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 94,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,726,000 after acquiring an additional 44,522 shares during the last quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% during the second quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 412,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,035,000 after purchasing an additional 8,949 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $113.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $127.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $288.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

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.