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

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MRK. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.76.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $144.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.73 and a 200 day moving average of $127.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $355.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.01 and a 52 week high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 272.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,012,530,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969,856 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,210,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,482 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $254,206,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.