Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Up 0.3% - Should You Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $98.38 and last traded at $97.75. Approximately 2,288,083 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 8,937,311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $107.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $251.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.

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