Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Short Interest Up 38.7% in May

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 100,700 shares, an increase of 38.7% from the April 30th total of 72,600 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 229,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Merck KGaA Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of OTCMKTS:MKKGY traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.66. The company had a trading volume of 79,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,080. Merck KGaA has a 1-year low of $24.32 and a 1-year high of $39.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.38.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 12.89%. Research analysts predict that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck KGaA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.3382 per share. This is a positive change from Merck KGaA's previous dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.25%. Merck KGaA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.64%.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA operates as a science and technology company in Germany. It operates through Life Science, Healthcare, and Electronics segments. The company's Life Science segment offers tools, chemicals, and equipment for academic labs, biotech, and pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as industrial sector.