Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Up 3.6%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares rose 3.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $128.49 and last traded at $128.21. Approximately 2,117,154 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 8,490,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $323.49 billion, a PE ratio of 141.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.55.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

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

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 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.