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

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $133.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $127.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.49 billion, a PE ratio of 141.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,108,366,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after buying an additional 5,865,948 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $724,776,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,487,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196,914 shares in the last quarter. 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.