Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Up 0.5%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $118.98 and last traded at $118.91. Approximately 2,493,794 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 8,620,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

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 business's fifty day moving average price is $118.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.40. The company has a market capitalization of $300.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.