Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. They currently have a $48.00 price target on the stock.
Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Merck & Co in a research note to investors on Monday. Separately, analysts at Bank of America upgraded shares of Merck & Co from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note to investors on Monday. They now have a $47.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Jefferies Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co from $47.00 to $46.00 in a research note to investors on Monday, February 25th. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, three have issued an overweight rating, six have assigned a hold rating, and one has issued a sell rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “overweight” and a consensus target price of $48.57.
Shares of Merck & Co traded down 0.30% during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.21. Merck & Co has a 52 week low of $36.91 and a 52 week high of $48.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $42.38. The company has a market cap of $131.4 billion and a P/E ratio of 20.03.
Merck & Co last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co has set its FY13 guidance at $3.60-3.70 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co will post $3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th.
Merck & Co, Inc. (Merck) is a global health care company that delivers health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products, which it markets directly and through its joint ventures.
Get Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades via Email - Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades and downgrades. Click here to register now.
