Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 1.6%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $117.77 and last traded at $117.72. 1,539,358 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 8,623,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $298.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company's fifty day moving average is $118.63 and its 200 day moving average is $124.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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.