Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) PT Lowered to $132.00 at Truist Financial

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target lowered by Truist Financial from $143.00 to $132.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

MRK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

MRK stock opened at $109.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $277.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.