Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given “Overweight” Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $155.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MRK. Barclays lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $117.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $118.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.07, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.