Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 0.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $102.28 and last traded at $101.65. Approximately 2,715,183 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 9,256,337 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.19.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.20.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.09 and a 200 day moving average of $114.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.39.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,166 shares of the company's stock worth $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. BigSur Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,748,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $678,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 30,201 shares of the company's stock worth $3,739,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.8% during the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 11,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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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