Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Raised to $150.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MRK. TD Cowen upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $116.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,362,780.08. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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