Merck & Co., Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.85 (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Merck declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, payable October 7 to shareholders of record on September 15. The dividend implies an annualized payout of $3.40 and a 2.6% yield.
• Merck has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years, with a 35% payout ratio indicating coverage by earnings. Analysts expect the company to earn $9.72 per share next year, implying the payout should remain well covered.
• MRK opened at $130.45, near its 52-week high of $135.05, while the company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 4.9% year over year to $16.29 billion and exceeded analyst estimates.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of 0.85 per share on Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th.

Merck & Co., Inc. has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Merck & Co., Inc. has a dividend payout ratio of 35.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Merck & Co., Inc. to earn $9.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.0%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

MRK stock opened at $130.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.53 and a 1-year high of $135.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $122.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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