Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $150.00 price target on the stock. Merck & Co., Inc. traded as high as $123.33 and last traded at $121.8870, with a volume of 1774626 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $119.24.

Several other analysts have also commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total transaction of $1,184,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total transaction of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,759,460.58. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.11. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $301.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The company 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 firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.