Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.60.

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. SVB Leerink reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, June 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company.

NYSE MRK opened at $85.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $214.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.89 and a fifty-two week high of $94.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 47.86% and a net margin of 26.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 31.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 15th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.37%.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Landmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $25,000. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Avengers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 89.4% during the fourth quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 72.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile (Get Rating)

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.

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