Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.67.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $100.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.85. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.