Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $133.9444.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $127.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $315.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.45. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,450,000 after buying an additional 11,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,022,000 after buying an additional 320,143 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.