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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $119.35.

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $107.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $273.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.65 and a 52-week high of $115.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share 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 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $535,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,900 shares in the company, valued at $3,734,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Coco Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Coco Enterprises LLC now owns 7,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. now owns 14,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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.