Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Now Covered by Citigroup

Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4%

MRK opened at $85.64 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $111.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $213.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.