Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) – Research Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates

Posted by Trevor Kearing on Oct 17th, 2024

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) recently:

10/17/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. is now covered by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock.
10/9/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $142.00 to $136.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
10/9/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $143.00 to $132.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
10/7/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $142.00 to $140.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
10/3/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $155.00 price target on the stock.
9/16/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $155.00 price target on the stock.
8/29/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $155.00 price target on the stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $109.98. 3,678,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,741,646. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

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

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.