Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Competitors

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Does the media prefer AMGN or MRK?

In the previous week, Merck & Co., Inc. had 3 more articles in the media than Amgen. MarketBeat recorded 61 mentions for Merck & Co., Inc. and 58 mentions for Amgen. Merck & Co., Inc.'s average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Amgen's score of 0.98 indicating that Merck & Co., Inc. is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Amgen	45 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Merck & Co., Inc.	52 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AMGN or MRK more profitable?

Merck & Co., Inc. has a net margin of 27.27% compared to Amgen's net margin of 17.39%. Amgen's return on equity of 176.11% beat Merck & Co., Inc.'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amgen	17.39%	176.11%	12.39%
Merck & Co., Inc.	27.27%	43.23%	17.11%

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of AMGN or MRK?

76.5% of Amgen shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Amgen shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts recommend AMGN or MRK?

Amgen currently has a consensus price target of $307.82, suggesting a potential upside of 3.21%. Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus price target of $109.19, suggesting a potential upside of 34.85%. Given Merck & Co., Inc.'s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Merck & Co., Inc. is more favorable than Amgen.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amgen	2 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.35
Merck & Co., Inc.	1 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Which has higher earnings and valuation, AMGN or MRK?

Merck & Co., Inc. has higher revenue and earnings than Amgen. Merck & Co., Inc. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Amgen, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amgen	$33.42B	4.80	$4.09B	$10.96	27.21
Merck & Co., Inc.	$64.17B	3.17	$17.12B	$6.87	11.79

Which has more volatility and risk, AMGN or MRK?

Amgen has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Merck & Co., Inc. has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AMGN or MRK a better dividend stock?

Amgen pays an annual dividend of $9.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $3.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Amgen pays out 86.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Merck & Co., Inc. pays out 47.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Amgen has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Merck & Co., Inc. has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Merck & Co., Inc. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Merck & Co., Inc. beats Amgen on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.