Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. Wells Fargo & Company now has a $125.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $90.00. Merck & Co., Inc. traded as high as $105.84 and last traded at $105.7080, with a volume of 21978944 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.40.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.