Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading 1.3% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $120.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Merck & Co., Inc. traded as high as $103.09 and last traded at $102.3670. 12,532,017 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 14,658,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.03.

MRK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $250.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

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.