Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

MRK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $124.41 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $131.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.