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

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.8125.

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $114.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. This represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,602 shares in the company, valued at $52,362,780.08. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.