Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MRK. CICC Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MRK opened at $127.61 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $131.74. The company has a market cap of $315.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.45.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 30,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,925,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $51,000. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.0% during the second quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 49,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,365,000 after buying an additional 5,322 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.0% in the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 113,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,566,000 after buying an additional 24,801 shares during the period. Finally, Owen LaRue LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $465,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.