Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Up 0.3% – Here’s Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares were up 0.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $101.61 and last traded at $101.51. Approximately 1,660,476 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 9,249,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $259.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $103.41 and its 200 day moving average is $115.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.57%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $511,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,461,000 after purchasing an additional 7,916 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 5,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 65,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,252,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.1% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.