Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on MRK. UBS Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $122.05 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $123.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.91.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.