Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes for Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) has recently received a number of price target changes and ratings updates:

• 4/8/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by analysts at Berenberg Bank from $140.00 to $143.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 4/5/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $135.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/28/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Truist Financial Co.. They now have a $142.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $139.00.
• 3/27/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $135.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/27/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $130.00 to $135.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 3/11/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by analysts at Societe Generale from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. They now have a $104.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/4/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by analysts at TheStreet from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating.
• 2/29/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $135.00 price target on the stock.
• 2/14/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $135.00 price target on the stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $126.13. 6,187,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,462,223. The company has a market cap of $319.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 900.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.30 and a 200 day moving average of $114.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.