Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $133.9444.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $127.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $315.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.19. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $120.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.45. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company's stock worth $2,450,000 after buying an additional 11,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company's stock worth $137,022,000 after buying an additional 320,143 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.

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