Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was the target of a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 75,400 shares, a decline of 25.1% from the May 15th total of 100,700 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 237,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Merck KGaA Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of OTCMKTS:MKKGY opened at $25.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.94. Merck KGaA has a 1-year low of $24.32 and a 1-year high of $39.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.11.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 13.23%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck KGaA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.3382 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck KGaA’s previous dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.25%. Merck KGaA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.11%.

Merck KGaA Company Profile

Merck KGaA operates as a science and technology company in Germany. It operates through Life Science, Healthcare, and Electronics segments. The company’s Life Science segment offers tools, chemicals, and equipment for academic labs, biotech, and pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as industrial sector.