Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Upgraded at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $150.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $121.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.54. The firm has a market cap of $301.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.