Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers. The company has collaborations with AstraZeneca PLC; Bayer AG; Eisai Co., Ltd.; Ridgeback Biotherapeutics; and Gilead Sciences, Inc. to jointly develop and commercialize long-acting treatments in HIV. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $91.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $230.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.14 and a 200-day moving average of $85.93. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $70.89 and a one year high of $95.72.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $14.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 48.45% and a net margin of 29.00%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 15th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.27%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $76.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 18th. Cowen lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 29th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, June 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Atlantic Securities raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.44.