Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Receives $123.67 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.00.

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $96.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.