Analysts Set Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) PT at $123.67

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.67.

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $1,207,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 199,829 shares of the company's stock worth $24,739,000 after buying an additional 7,641 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,584,209 shares of the company's stock worth $196,127,000 after acquiring an additional 28,185 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,775,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,784,000 after acquiring an additional 61,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 20,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $2.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.00. 15,879,862 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock's fifty day moving average is $100.01 and its 200-day moving average is $109.72. The stock has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.