Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given New $145.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price trimmed by Bank of America from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MRK. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.2 %

MRK opened at $115.20 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $126.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.50. The company has a market cap of $291.78 billion, a PE ratio of 128.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Denver Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 15,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,672,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 22,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 8,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.