Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded down 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $111.34 and last traded at $112.13. 2,323,316 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 8,662,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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, July 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.52. The stock has a market cap of $281.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $3,108,366,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $724,776,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,966,029,000 after buying an additional 4,731,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.