Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) PT Lowered to $125.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $140.00 to $125.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $115.20 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $126.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $291.78 billion, a PE ratio of 128.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.