NYSE:MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Forecast, Price & News

Top-Rated Dividend Stocks

$81.15

+0.17 (+0.21 %)

(As of 01/25/2021 12:00 AM ET)

Add

Compare

Today's Range

$80.06

Now: $81.15▼

$81.19

50-Day Range

$79.29

MA: $81.79▼

$85.00

52-Week Range

$65.25

Now: $81.15▼

$89.20

Volume9.49 million shs

Average Volume9.88 million shs

Market Capitalization$205.31 billion

P/E Ratio17.95

Dividend Yield3.21%

Beta0.43

Merck & Co., Inc. provides healthcare solutions worldwide. The company offers therapeutic for cardiovascular, type 2 diabetes, chronic hepatitis C virus, HIV-1 infection, intra-abdominal, fungal infection, insomnia, and inflammatory diseases; neuromuscular blocking agents; cholesterol modifying medicines; and anti-bacterial and vaginal contraceptive products. It provides products to prevent chemotherapy-induced and post-operative nausea and vomiting; treat non-small-cell lung, ovarian and breast, esophageal, thyroid, cervical, and brain cancers; and prevent diseases caused by human papillomavirus, as well as vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, shingles, rotavirus gastroenteritis, and pneumococcal diseases. In addition, the company offers drugs for hepatocellular and merkel cell carcinoma; antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drugs for infectious and respiratory diseases, fertility disorders, and pneumonia in cattle, bovine, and swine; vaccines for poultry; parasiticides for sea lice in salmon; and antibiotics and vaccines for fish. Further, it provides companion animal products; diabetes mellitus treatment and anthelmintic products for dogs and cats; products to treat fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and sandflies; horse fertility management products for swine; and dog, cat, and horse vaccines. Additionally, the company offers services and solutions that focus on engagement, clinical, and health analytics. Merck & Co., Inc. has collaborations with AstraZeneca PLC; Bayer AG; Eisai Co., Ltd.; Almac Discovery Ltd.; Skyhawk Therapeutics, Inc.; Ridgeback Biotherapeutics; Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co., Ltd.; FUJIFILM Corporation; Intec Pharma Ltd.; Transcenta Holding Ltd.; and Janux Therapeutics, Inc. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.

MarketRank^™

Overall MarketRank^™

2.19 out of 5 stars

Medical Sector

24th out of 1,922 stocks

Pharmaceutical Preparations Industry

10th out of 771 stocks

2.4 Analyst's Opinion

Consensus Rating
Merck & Co., Inc. has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.86, and is based on 12 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.
Price Target Upside/Downside
According to analysts' consensus price target of $95.36, Merck & Co., Inc. has a forecasted upside of 17.5% from its current price of $81.15.
Amount of Analyst Coverage
Merck & Co., Inc. has only been the subject of 3 research reports in the past 90 days.

2.5 Community Rank

Outperform Votes
Merck & Co., Inc. has received 865 “outperform” votes. (Add your “outperform” vote.)
Underperform Votes
Merck & Co., Inc. has received 838 “underperform” votes. (Add your “underperform” vote.)
Community Sentiment
Merck & Co., Inc. has received 50.79% “outperform” votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Merck & Co., Inc. and other stocks. Vote “Outperform” if you believe MRK will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote “Underperform” if you believe MRK will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

2.5 Dividend Strength

Dividend Yield
Merck & Co., Inc. pays a meaningful dividend of 3.21%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.
Dividend Growth
Merck & Co., Inc. has only been increasing its dividend for 1 years.
Dividend Coverage
The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 50.10%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.
Dividend Sustainability
Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 42.83% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

1.7 Company Ownership

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling
In the past three months, Merck & Co., Inc. insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.
Percentage Held by Insiders
Only 0.28% of the stock of Merck & Co., Inc. is held by insiders.
Percentage Held by Institutions
72.86% of the stock of Merck & Co., Inc. is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

1.9 Earnings and Valuation

Earnings Growth
Earnings for Merck & Co., Inc. are expected to grow by 2.88% in the coming year, from $5.90 to $6.07 per share.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market
The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 17.95, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 24.51.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector
The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 17.95, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 36.80.
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
Merck & Co., Inc. has a PEG Ratio of 1.89. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.
Price to Book Value per Share Ratio
Merck & Co., Inc. has a P/B Ratio of 7.95. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

See Top Rated MarketRank™ Stocks Here

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Stock Exchange NYSE

Industry Pharmaceutical preparations

Sub-IndustryPharmaceuticals

SectorMedical

Current SymbolNYSE:MRK

Previous Symbol

CUSIP58933Y10

CIK310158

Webwww.merck.com

Phone908-740-4000

Employees71,000

Year Founded1891

Debt

Debt-to-Equity Ratio0.90

Current Ratio1.30

Quick Ratio1.00

Price-To-Earnings

Trailing P/E Ratio17.95

Forward P/E Ratio13.75

P/E Growth1.89

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales$46.84 billion

Price / Sales4.38

Cash Flow$6.59 per share

Price / Cash Flow12.31

Book Value$10.21 per share

Price / Book7.95

Profitability

EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year)$5.19

Net Income$9.84 billion

Net Margins24.33%

Return on Equity53.83%

Return on Assets16.83%

Miscellaneous

Outstanding Shares2,530,034,000

Market Cap$205.31 billion

Next Earnings Date2/4/2021 (Confirmed)

OptionableOptionable

$81.15

+0.17 (+0.21 %)

(As of 01/25/2021 12:00 AM ET)

30 days | 90 days | 365 days | Advanced Chart

Receive MRK News and Ratings via Email

Sign-up to receive the latest news and ratings for MRK and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Frequently Asked Questions

How has Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock been impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock was trading at $79.25 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, MRK shares have increased by 2.4% and is now trading at $81.15.
View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.

Is Merck & Co., Inc. a buy right now?

14 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. in the last twelve months. There are currently 2 hold ratings and 12 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "buy" Merck & Co., Inc. stock.
View analyst ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. or view MarketBeat's top 5 stock picks.

What stocks does MarketBeat like better than Merck & Co., Inc.?

Wall Street analysts have given Merck & Co., Inc. a "Buy" rating, but there may be better short-term opportunities in the market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new trading ideas, but Merck & Co., Inc. wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five stocks may be even better buys.
View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.

What is Kenneth C. Frazier's approval rating as Merck & Co., Inc.'s CEO?

1,343 employees have rated Merck & Co., Inc. CEO Kenneth C. Frazier on Glassdoor.com. Kenneth C. Frazier has an approval rating of 94% among Merck & Co., Inc.'s employees. This puts Kenneth C. Frazier in the top 30% of approval ratings compared to other CEOs of publicly-traded companies.

When is Merck & Co., Inc.'s next earnings date?

Merck & Co., Inc. is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, February 4th 2021.
View our earnings forecast for Merck & Co., Inc..

How can I listen to Merck & Co., Inc.'s earnings call?

Merck & Co., Inc. will be holding an earnings conference call on Thursday, February 4th at 12:00 AM Eastern. Interested parties can register for or listen to the call using this link or dial in at Not Available.

How were Merck & Co., Inc.'s earnings last quarter?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October, 27th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $12.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.33% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 53.83%. The company's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share.
View Merck & Co., Inc.'s earnings history.

How often does Merck & Co., Inc. pay dividends? What is the dividend yield for Merck & Co., Inc.?

Merck & Co., Inc. declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share on Friday, January 8th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 14th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61.
View Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend history.

Is Merck & Co., Inc. a good dividend stock?

Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 3.21%. Merck & Co., Inc. does not yet have a strock track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 50.10%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 42.83% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.
View Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend history.

What price target have analysts set for MRK?

14 Wall Street analysts have issued 1 year price targets for Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock. Their forecasts range from $88.00 to $105.00. On average, they anticipate Merck & Co., Inc.'s share price to reach $95.36 in the next twelve months. This suggests a possible upside of 17.5% from the stock's current price.
View analysts' price targets for Merck & Co., Inc. or view Wall Street analyst' top-rated stocks.

Who are some of Merck & Co., Inc.'s key competitors?

Some companies that are related to Merck & Co., Inc. include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Pfizer (PFE), Eli Lilly and (LLY), AbbVie (ABBV), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Zoetis (ZTS), Royalty Pharma (RPRX), Horizon Therapeutics Public (HZNP), Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), Perrigo (PRGO), Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), Pacira BioSciences (PCRX), Endo International (ENDP) and Supernus Pharmaceuticals (SUPN).
View all of MRK's competitors.

What other stocks do shareholders of Merck & Co., Inc. own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other Merck & Co., Inc. investors own include Pfizer (PFE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), AT&T (T), Intel (INTC), Cisco Systems (CSCO), The Walt Disney (DIS), Verizon Communications (VZ), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), AbbVie (ABBV) and The Home Depot (HD).

Who are Merck & Co., Inc.'s key executives?

Merck & Co., Inc.'s management team includes the following people:

Mr. Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman, Pres & CEO (Age 66, Pay $6.64M)
Mr. Robert M. Davis, Exec. VP of Global Services & CFO (Age 54, Pay $3.29M)
Ms. Jennifer L. Zachary, Exec. VP, Gen. Counsel & Corp. Sec. (Age 43, Pay $2.47M)
Mr. Sanat Chattopadhyay, Exec. VP & Pres of Merck Manufacturing Division (Age 61, Pay $2.01M)
Mr. David Michael Williams, Chief Information & Digital Officer
Mr. Peter Dannenbaum CFA, VP of Investor Relations
Michael W. Fleming, Sr. VP and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer (Age 62)
Ms. Jennifer Mauer, VP of Global Communications
Mr. Michael T. Nally, Chief Marketing Officer & Exec. VP (Age 45)
Mr. Steven C. Mizell, Exec. VP & Chief HR Officer (Age 61)

What is Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock symbol?

Merck & Co., Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "MRK."

Who are Merck & Co., Inc.'s major shareholders?

Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock is owned by a variety of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional investors include Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. (0.14%), New York State Teachers Retirement System (0.14%), Alecta Pensionsforsakring Omsesidigt (0.12%), Sarasin & Partners LLP (0.10%), Strs Ohio (0.08%) and Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (0.06%). Company insiders that own Merck & Co., Inc. stock include Frank Clyburn, Julie L Gerberding, Kenneth C Frazier, Leslie A Brun, Merck & Co, Inc, Richard R Deluca, Rita A Karachun, Robert M Davis, Sanat Chattopadhyay, Thomas H Glocer and Wendell P Weeks.
View institutional ownership trends for Merck & Co., Inc..

Which major investors are selling Merck & Co., Inc. stock?

MRK stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Capital Wealth Planning LLC, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC, New York State Teachers Retirement System, Hexavest Inc., Cadinha & Co. LLC, Avantax Advisory Services Inc., State of Alaska Department of Revenue, and DNB Asset Management AS. Company insiders that have sold Merck & Co., Inc. company stock in the last year include Frank Clyburn, Julie L Gerberding, Robert M Davis, Sanat Chattopadhyay, and Wendell P Weeks.
View insider buying and selling activity for Merck & Co., Inc. or view top insider-selling stocks.

Which major investors are buying Merck & Co., Inc. stock?

MRK stock was purchased by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Alecta Pensionsforsakring Omsesidigt, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A., KAMES CAPITAL plc, Radnor Capital Management LLC, Donaldson Capital Management LLC, Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB, Sarasin & Partners LLP, and Kestra Advisory Services LLC.
View insider buying and selling activity for Merck & Co., Inc. or or view top insider-buying stocks.

How do I buy shares of Merck & Co., Inc.?

Shares of MRK can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include WeBull, Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab.

What is Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock price today?

One share of MRK stock can currently be purchased for approximately $81.15.

How big of a company is Merck & Co., Inc.?

Merck & Co., Inc. has a market capitalization of $205.31 billion and generates $46.84 billion in revenue each year. The company earns $9.84 billion in net income (profit) each year or $5.19 on an earnings per share basis. Merck & Co., Inc. employs 71,000 workers across the globe.

When was Merck & Co., Inc. founded?

Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891.

What is Merck & Co., Inc.'s official website?

The official website for Merck & Co., Inc. is www.merck.com.

How can I contact Merck & Co., Inc.?

Merck & Co., Inc.'s mailing address is 2000 GALLOPING HILL ROAD, KENILWORTH NJ, 07033. The company can be reached via phone at 908-740-4000 or via email at [email protected]

This page was last updated on 1/26/2021 by MarketBeat.com Staff

30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for $1.00

Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring
View the latest news, buy/sell ratings, SEC filings and insider transactions for your stocks. Compare your portfolio performance to leading indices and get personalized stock ideas based on your portfolio.
Stock Ideas and Recommendations
Get daily stock ideas top-performing Wall Street analysts. Get short term trading ideas from the MarketBeat Idea Engine. View which stocks are hot on social media with MarketBeat's trending stocks report.
Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools
Identify stocks that meet your criteria using seven unique stock screeners. See what's happening in the market right now with MarketBeat's real-time news feed. Export data to Excel for your own analysis.

Start Your Risk-Free Trial Subscription Here