Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 0.6%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was up 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $114.34 and last traded at $113.81. Approximately 2,561,677 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 8,712,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $287.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.34, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 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.