Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. Wells Fargo & Company now has a $125.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $90.00. Merck & Co., Inc. traded as high as $105.84 and last traded at $105.7080, with a volume of 21978944 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.40.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.06.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,963,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the third quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 179,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,086,000 after buying an additional 4,156 shares during the period. Ariadne Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 6,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 24,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,095,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 5.3%

The firm has a market cap of $262.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

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.