Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading 0.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s share price traded up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $99.56 and last traded at $98.88. 1,934,767 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 9,293,936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a market cap of $252.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 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.