Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Receives $128.72 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $131.8333.

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $129.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $319.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $117.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $585,192,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.