Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) – Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates

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

• 1/28/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 1/21/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $113.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 1/13/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at Leerink Partners from $136.00 to $119.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 1/8/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Truist Financial Co.. They now have a $110.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $130.00.
• 1/8/2025 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $125.00 to $120.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. was downgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating. They now have a $105.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $136.00.
• 12/10/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Bank of America Co.. They now have a $121.00 price target on the stock.
• 12/4/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating.
• 12/4/2024 – Merck & Co., Inc. was upgraded by analysts at HSBC Holdings plc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $130.00 price target on the stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $97.49 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.34. The stock has a market cap of $246.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,924,000 after buying an additional 2,194,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.