Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Research Coverage Started at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE MRK opened at $122.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $302.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $123.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $110.66 and its 200 day moving average is $96.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. This trade represents a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,889,340,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.