Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Now Covered by Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research firms 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. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $122.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $123.33. 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 market capitalization of $302.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $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. Equities analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 46.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. This trade represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 47,434 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $5,599,109.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,362,780.08. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 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.