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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $116.02 and last traded at $115.53. Approximately 1,880,337 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 8,702,378 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $292.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.