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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $131.25.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,683,000 after buying an additional 169,536 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after acquiring an additional 9,376 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $125.18 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $126.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.84. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $317.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 894.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.