Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $139.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.01 and a 52-week high of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $344.45 billion, a PE ratio of 111.69, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,012,530,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,858,938,000 after buying an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,210,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Employees Provident Fund Board bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $254,206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.