Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes for Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) in the last few weeks:

• 2/18/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $105.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $128.00.
• 2/12/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Guggenheim from $122.00 to $115.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 2/10/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by analysts at TD Securities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $100.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $121.00.
• 2/10/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by analysts at TD Cowen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $100.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $121.00.
• 2/5/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $105.00 to $96.00. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock.
• 2/5/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $113.00 to $106.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 2/5/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Bank of America Co. from $118.00 to $112.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 2/5/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 1/28/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 1/21/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $113.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 1/13/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Leerink Partners from $136.00 to $119.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 1/8/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Truist Financial Co.. They now have a $110.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $130.00.
• 1/8/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $125.00 to $120.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating. They now have a $105.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $136.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.97. 11,152,973 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,699,401. The company has a market cap of $209.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.