Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.80.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $122.05 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.02. The company has a market cap of $302.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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.