Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report)’s share price traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $99.14 and last traded at $99.03. 11,650,053 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 14,663,474 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.38.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.06. The company has a market cap of $245.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.80%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

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