Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Cut to $145.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock.

MRK has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $113.13 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $286.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Denver Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 15,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 22,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 8,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.