Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Merck & Co. has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from analysts, with a mix of ratings including one sell, thirteen holds, six buys, and one strong buy.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.03, but fell short of revenue expectations with $15.81 billion in revenue against a forecast of $15.92 billion.
• Merck is set to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.2%, with the ex-dividend date on September 15th.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.4118.

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th.

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

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE MRK opened at $77.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $114.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.09.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

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