Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Upgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to “Buy” Rating

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has $150.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MRK. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $121.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $301.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $123.33.

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. The business had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 45.22%. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,787,865.12. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.