Should I buy or sell Merck & Co., Inc. stock right now?

21 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. in the last year. There are currently 5 hold ratings and 16 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" MRK shares. View MRK analyst ratings or view top-rated stocks .

What is Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock price target for 2024?

21 Wall Street research analysts have issued 1 year price targets for Merck & Co., Inc.'s shares. Their MRK share price targets range from $115.00 to $148.00. On average, they predict the company's share price to reach $129.68 in the next twelve months. This suggests a possible upside of 3.4% from the stock's current price. View analysts price targets for MRK or view top-rated stocks among Wall Street analysts .

How have MRK shares performed in 2024?

Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock was trading at $109.02 at the beginning of 2024. Since then, MRK stock has increased by 15.1% and is now trading at $125.45. View the best growth stocks for 2024 here .

Are investors shorting Merck & Co., Inc.?

Merck & Co., Inc. saw a increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 20,810,000 shares, an increase of 16.5% from the December 31st total of 17,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. View Merck & Co., Inc.'s Short Interest .

When is Merck & Co., Inc.'s next earnings date?

The company is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, April 25th 2024. View our MRK earnings forecast .

How were Merck & Co., Inc.'s earnings last quarter?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) issued its earnings results on Thursday, February, 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Read the conference call transcript .

How often does Merck & Co., Inc. pay dividends? What is the dividend yield for Merck & Co., Inc.?

Merck & Co., Inc. announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share on Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Read our dividend analysis for MRK .

Is Merck & Co., Inc. a good dividend stock?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.46%. The company has been increasing its dividend for 13 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio is 2,200.00%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, MRK will have a dividend payout ratio of 31.92% next year. This indicates that the company will be able to sustain or increase its dividend. Read our dividend analysis for MRK .

What ETFs hold Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock?

ETFs with the largest weight of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) stock in their portfolio include First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH) , Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF (SPMO) , Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP) , Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) , iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) , Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) , Optimize AI Smart Sentiment Event-Driven ETF (OAIE) and VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH) .

What guidance has Merck & Co., Inc. issued on next quarter's earnings?

Merck & Co., Inc. updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday, February, 1st. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $8.44 to $8.59 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $8.40. The company issued revenue guidance of $62.7 billion to $64.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $63.47 billion.

What is Kenneth C. Frazier's approval rating as Merck & Co., Inc.'s CEO?

1,343 employees have rated Merck & Co., Inc. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth C. Frazier on Glassdoor.com . Kenneth C. Frazier has an approval rating of 94% among the company's employees. This puts Kenneth C. Frazier in the top 30% of approval ratings compared to other CEOs of publicly-traded companies.

What other stocks do shareholders of Merck & Co., Inc. own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other Merck & Co., Inc. investors own include Pfizer (PFE) , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) , AT&T (T) , Intel (INTC) , Cisco Systems (CSCO) , Walt Disney (DIS) , Verizon Communications (VZ) , JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) , AbbVie (ABBV) and Home Depot (HD) .

Who are Merck & Co., Inc.'s major shareholders?

Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock is owned by many different retail and institutional investors. Top institutional investors include Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. (1.45%), Norges Bank (1.13%), Fisher Asset Management LLC (0.54%), California Public Employees Retirement System (0.51%), Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA (0.45%) and Franklin Resources Inc. (0.40%). Insiders that own company stock include Caroline Litchfield , Frank Clyburn , Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen , Joseph Romanelli , Kenneth C Frazier , Richard R Deluca , Rita A Karachun , Robert M Davis , Sanat Chattopadhyay and Steven Mizell . View institutional ownership trends .

How do I buy shares of Merck & Co., Inc.?

Shares of MRK stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services. Compare Top Brokerages Here .

Top-Rated Dividend StocksTop-Rated Dividend

NYSE:MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Stock Price, News & Analysis

$125.45

-1.16 (-0.92%)

(As of 02/9/2024 08:56 PM ET)

Compare

Today's Range: $125.04
▼
$126.69
50-Day Range: $103.75
▼
$127.47
52-Week Range: $99.14
▼
$128.06

Volume: 7.89 million shs
Average Volume: 8.17 million shs
Market Capitalization: $317.89 billion

P/E Ratio: 896.07
Dividend Yield: 2.46%
Price Target: $129.68

Get Merck & Co., Inc. alerts:

Merck & Co., Inc. MarketRank™ Stock Analysis

Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy
2.76 Rating Score
Upside/Downside: 3.4% Upside
$129.68 Price Target
Short Interest: Healthy
0.82% of Shares Sold Short
Dividend Strength: Strong
Based on Four Factors
Sustainability: -2.39
Upright™ Environmental Score
News Sentiment: 0.75
Based on 30 Articles This Week
Insider Trading: Selling Shares
$6.42 M Sold Last Quarter
Proj. Earnings Growth: 12.21%
From $8.60 to $9.65 Per Share

Overall MarketRank^™

New Rank-Based ScoringMarketRank^™ is calculated by averaging available category scores (with extra weight given to analysis and valuation), then ranking the company's weighted average against that of other companies.

4.46 out of 5 stars

Medical Sector

98th out of 922 stocks

Pharmaceutical Preparations Industry

35th out of 424 stocks

2.4

Analyst's Opinion

Consensus Rating
Merck & Co., Inc. has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.76, and is based on 16 buy ratings, 5 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.
Price Target Upside/Downside
According to analysts' consensus price target of $129.68, Merck & Co., Inc. has a forecasted upside of 3.4% from its current price of $125.45.
Amount of Analyst Coverage
Merck & Co., Inc. has been the subject of 6 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

3.0

Short Interest

Percentage of Shares Shorted
0.82% of the outstanding shares of Merck & Co., Inc. have been sold short.
Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover
Merck & Co., Inc. has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.5, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
Change versus previous month
Short interest in Merck & Co., Inc. has recently increased by 16.45%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

3.3

Dividend Strength

Dividend Yield
Merck & Co., Inc. pays a meaningful dividend of 2.46%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.
Dividend Growth
Merck & Co., Inc. has been increasing its dividend for 13 years.
Dividend Coverage
The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 2,200.00%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.
Dividend Sustainability
Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 31.92% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

4.2

Sustainability and ESG

Overall ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Score
Merck & Co., Inc. has received a 61.59% net impact score from Upright. The largest positive contribution comes from its "Physical diseases" impact, which is mostly driven by its "Papillomavirus vaccines", "Pembrolizumab", and "Antiviral medication (J05)" products. See details.
Environmental Sustainability
The Environmental Impact score for Merck & Co., Inc. is -2.39.

2.1

News and Social Media Coverage

News Sentiment
Merck & Co., Inc. has a news sentiment score of 0.75. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.92 average news sentiment score of Medical companies.
News Coverage This Week
MarketBeat has tracked 30 news articles for Merck & Co., Inc. this week, compared to 14 articles on an average week.
Search Interest
Only 97 people have searched for MRK on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of 0% compared to the previous 30 days.
MarketBeat Follows
Only 45 people have added Merck & Co., Inc. to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -10% compared to the previous 30 days.

2.5

Company Ownership

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling
In the past three months, Merck & Co., Inc. insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $6,420,395.00 in company stock.
Percentage Held by Insiders
Only 0.20% of the stock of Merck & Co., Inc. is held by insiders.
Percentage Held by Institutions
74.59% of the stock of Merck & Co., Inc. is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

1.3

Earnings and Valuation

Earnings Growth
Earnings for Merck & Co., Inc. are expected to grow by 12.21% in the coming year, from $8.60 to $9.65 per share.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market
The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 896.07, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 123.39.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector
The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 896.07, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 111.08.
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
Merck & Co., Inc. has a PEG Ratio of 1.62. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.
Price to Book Value per Share Ratio
Merck & Co., Inc. has a P/B Ratio of 6.90. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

See Top Rated MarketRank™ Stocks Here

About Merck & Co., Inc. Stock (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. is a US-based multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company. It was officially founded in 1891 as the US arm of Merck Group, headquartered in Germany. Merck Group was founded in 1668 when Friedrick Jacob Merck purchased a pharmacy in Darmstadt, Germany. The company transformed from a pharmacy into a drug manufacturer in 1827 with the commercialization of morphine and the perfection of the manufacturing process. The company will later gain recognition for isolating and commercializing the manufacture of cocaine as well.

Merck Group sent Theodore Weicker to New York as its representative in 1889 and he quickly began to set up operations. The original investment of $200,000 resulted in a facility in lower Manhattan and the addition of Merck family member George Merck to the project. They began operations in 1891 and were in business as the US branch of Merck Group until 1917 and the onset of World War I.

World War I brought about the Trading With The Enemy Act of 1917 and the nationalization of Merck Group’s US operations. Those operations were repurchased at a government auction only 2 years later with the help of Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, but the split was done. The company retained rights to the Merck name in the US but remained independent. One of many noteworthy achievements in the post-War period is the discovery of streptomycin, which was revolutionary in treating tuberculosis.

In 1953 the company merged with Sharp& Dohme to form the then 2nd largest US drug manufacturer. The merger brought smallpox vaccines to the portfolio and opened a new avenue of research for the business. Since then, advancements in vaccine technology include treatments for mumps and chickenpox. Other notable advancements include the discovery of statins as a cholesterol inhibitor and work in veterinary medicine.

Today, Merck & Co operates through 2 segments and under 2 different names with a headquarters in Kenilworth, NJ. The company operates as Merck & Co in the US and as Merck Sharp & Dohme outside the US and Canada. The 2 segments are Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. Revenue topped $49 billion in 2022 and employed more than 68,000 people. The company has 8 research facilities near major university systems, including 7 in the US and 1 in the UK. As of 2022, the company had 82 pipeline products in Phase 2 trials, 30 in Phase 3 trials and 3 under review.

The Pharmaceutical segment researches discover and commercializes human health products in several areas of medicine. These include but are not limited to oncology, acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes. This segment has 6 blockbuster drugs as of late 2022, with each generating more than $1 billion in revenue. The leading treatments are Keytruda for treating cancer-related immune conditions, Gardisil which is a vaccine for HPV and Januvia for treating Type-II diabetes. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary healthcare products and services. Both segments sell to healthcare facilities and distributors.

MRK Stock Price History

30 days | 90 days | 365 days | Advanced Chart

MRK Stock News Headlines

February 8, 2024 | marketbeat.com

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February 6, 2024 | marketbeat.com

3 companies that more than doubled analyst EPS estimates

Earning season is well underway, and the separation between the winners and losers continues to grow. Of the companies that have beat

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February 5, 2024 | marketbeat.com

Pharmaceutical Stocks - Best Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy (MRK)

Along with biotechnology and biotech companies, the pharma industry is a major part of the overall healthcare market. Pharmaceutical companies include some of the biggest stock gainers and some of the best growth stocks on the market. The pharmaceutical market has many amazing stocks to watch. The pharma industry may also be a good investment for those looking for dividend stocks since so many of the largest pharmaceutical companies pay a dividend to its shareholders. Though the industry has plenty of potential for growth, investors should also be aware that pharma stocks—especially smaller startups—can be risky. Investors buying pharma stocks should make sure to do their research and only invest in pharma stocks as part of a diversified portfolio.

January 31, 2024 | marketbeat.com

IBM, Verizon, Merck stocks lead Dow to new highs (MRK)

The Dow hits record highs with IBM, Verizon, Merck, and insurer Travelers leading the way; those strong stocks don't make much of a dent in S&P performance

January 18, 2024 | marketbeat.com

Merck, the Dow's hottest stock, gets set to report Q4 financials

Up 5.7% year-to-date, pharmaceuticals - including MRK - are the best performing industry in the entire U.S. equity market, outpacing even biotech stocks.

February 11, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

14 Best US Stocks For Foreign Investors

February 10, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Merck & Co., Inc.'s (NYSE:MRK) On An Uptrend But Financial Prospects Look Pretty Weak: Is The Stock Overpriced?

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Analysts’ Top Healthcare Picks: Merck & Company (MRK), Omnicell (OMCL)

February 9, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Merck & Co Inc EVP, Chief Info & Digital Officer David Williams Sells 1,451 Shares

February 9, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

February 8, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

MERCK CANADA ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH VECTOR INSTITUTE TO FURTHER ADVANCE ITS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITIES AND DRIVE INNOVATION IN HEALTHCARE

February 7, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

2024 Promises To Bring Pharmaceutical Breakthroughs On The Oncology Front

February 7, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

Reviewing Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

February 7, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

February 6, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Merck (MRK) Unit to Buy Elanco's Aqua Business for $1.3B

February 6, 2024 | nz.finance.yahoo.com

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

February 6, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Rating Reiterated by Cantor Fitzgerald

February 5, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Insider Sell: President, U.S. Market Johannes Oosthuizen Sells 18,959 Shares of Merck & Co ...

February 5, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Investors more bullish on Merck (NYSE:MRK) this week as stock rises 4.2%, despite earnings trending downwards over past three years

February 5, 2024 | msn.com

Merck to buy Elanco’s aqua business for $1.3B in cash

February 5, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

Leerink Partnrs Comments on Merck & Co., Inc.'s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MRK)

February 4, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

UBS Group Raises Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target to $148.00

February 4, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Raised to $130.00

February 4, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

February 3, 2024 | americanbankingnews.com

Insider Selling: Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP Sells 50,694 Shares of Stock

See More Headlines

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Company Calendar

Ex-Dividend for 1/8 Dividend: 12/14/2023
Dividend Payable: 1/08/2024
Last Earnings: 2/01/2024
Today: 2/11/2024
Ex-Dividend for 4/5 Dividend: 3/14/2024
Dividend Payable: 4/05/2024
Next Earnings (Estimated): 4/25/2024
Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Get Stock Alerts

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Stock Exchange: NYSE
Sector: Medical
Industry: Pharmaceutical preparations
Sub-Industry: Pharmaceuticals
Current Symbol: NYSE:MRK
CUSIP: 58933Y10
CIK: 310158
Web: www.merck.com
Phone: (908) 740-4000
Fax: 908-735-1253
Employees: 69,000
Year Founded: 1891

Price Target and Rating

Average Stock Price Target: $129.68
High Stock Price Target: $148.00
Low Stock Price Target: $115.00
Potential Upside/Downside: +3.4%
Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
Rating Score (0-4): 2.76
Research Coverage: 21 Analysts

Profitability

EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $0.14
Trailing P/E Ratio: 896.07
Forward P/E Ratio: 14.59
P/E Growth: 1.62
Net Income: $365 million
Net Margins: 0.61%
Pretax Margin: 3.14%
Return on Equity: 9.07%
Return on Assets: 3.61%

Debt

Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.82
Current Ratio: 1.38
Quick Ratio: 1.12

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales: $60.12 billion
Price / Sales: 5.29
Cash Flow: $9.04 per share
Price / Cash Flow: 13.88
Book Value: $18.17 per share
Price / Book: 6.90

Miscellaneous

Outstanding Shares: 2,534,020,000
Free Float: 2,528,955,000
Market Cap: $317.89 billion
Optionable: Optionable
Beta: 0.38

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Key Executives

Mr. Robert M. Davis J.D. (Age 57)
Chairman, President & CEO
Comp: $6.08M
Ms. Caroline Litchfield (Age 55)
Executive VP & CFO
Comp: $2.8M
Ms. Jennifer L. Zachary (Age 46)
Executive VP & General Counsel
Comp: $2.73M
Dr. Dean Y. Li M.D. (Age 62)
Ph.D., Executive VP & President of Merck Research Laboratories
Comp: $3.44M
Mr. Chirfi Guindo (Age 58)
Senior VP & Chief Marketing Officer for Merck Human Health
Comp: $1.54M
Mr. Dalton E. Smart III (Age 58)
Senior VP of Finance, Principal Accounting Officer & Global Controller
Mr. David Michael Williams (Age 55)
Executive VP and Chief Information & Digital Officer
Mr. Peter Dannenbaum
Vice President of Investor Relations
Lisa LeCointe-Cephas (Age 42)
Senior VP and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer
Ms. Cristal N. Downing (Age 54)
Executive VP and Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer

Key Competitors

View All Competitors

Insiders & Institutions

View All Insider Transactions
View All Institutional Transactions

MRK Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Should I buy or sell Merck & Co., Inc. stock right now?: 21 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. in the last year. There are currently 5 hold ratings and 16 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" MRK shares.
View MRK analyst ratings or view top-rated stocks.
What is Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock price target for 2024?: 21 Wall Street research analysts have issued 1 year price targets for Merck & Co., Inc.'s shares. Their MRK share price targets range from $115.00 to $148.00. On average, they predict the company's share price to reach $129.68 in the next twelve months. This suggests a possible upside of 3.4% from the stock's current price.
View analysts price targets for MRK or view top-rated stocks among Wall Street analysts.
How have MRK shares performed in 2024?: Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock was trading at $109.02 at the beginning of 2024. Since then, MRK stock has increased by 15.1% and is now trading at $125.45.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.
Are investors shorting Merck & Co., Inc.?: Merck & Co., Inc. saw a increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 20,810,000 shares, an increase of 16.5% from the December 31st total of 17,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.
View Merck & Co., Inc.'s Short Interest.
When is Merck & Co., Inc.'s next earnings date?: The company is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, April 25th 2024.
View our MRK earnings forecast.
How were Merck & Co., Inc.'s earnings last quarter?: Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) issued its earnings results on Thursday, February, 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share.
Read the conference call transcript.
How often does Merck & Co., Inc. pay dividends? What is the dividend yield for Merck & Co., Inc.?: Merck & Co., Inc. announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share on Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th.
Read our dividend analysis for MRK.
Is Merck & Co., Inc. a good dividend stock?: Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.46%. The company has been increasing its dividend for 13 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio is 2,200.00%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, MRK will have a dividend payout ratio of 31.92% next year. This indicates that the company will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.
Read our dividend analysis for MRK.

What ETFs hold Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock?: ETFs with the largest weight of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) stock in their portfolio include First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH), Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF (SPMO), Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP), Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV), iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH), Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT), Optimize AI Smart Sentiment Event-Driven ETF (OAIE) and VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH).
What guidance has Merck & Co., Inc. issued on next quarter's earnings?: Merck & Co., Inc. updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday, February, 1st. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $8.44 to $8.59 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $8.40. The company issued revenue guidance of $62.7 billion to $64.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $63.47 billion.
What is Kenneth C. Frazier's approval rating as Merck & Co., Inc.'s CEO?: 1,343 employees have rated Merck & Co., Inc. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth C. Frazier on Glassdoor.com. Kenneth C. Frazier has an approval rating of 94% among the company's employees. This puts Kenneth C. Frazier in the top 30% of approval ratings compared to other CEOs of publicly-traded companies.
What other stocks do shareholders of Merck & Co., Inc. own?: Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other Merck & Co., Inc. investors own include Pfizer (PFE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), AT&T (T), Intel (INTC), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Walt Disney (DIS), Verizon Communications (VZ), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), AbbVie (ABBV) and Home Depot (HD).
Who are Merck & Co., Inc.'s major shareholders?: Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock is owned by many different retail and institutional investors. Top institutional investors include Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. (1.45%), Norges Bank (1.13%), Fisher Asset Management LLC (0.54%), California Public Employees Retirement System (0.51%), Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA (0.45%) and Franklin Resources Inc. (0.40%). Insiders that own company stock include Caroline Litchfield, Frank Clyburn, Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen, Joseph Romanelli, Kenneth C Frazier, Richard R Deluca, Rita A Karachun, Robert M Davis, Sanat Chattopadhyay and Steven Mizell.
View institutional ownership trends.
How do I buy shares of Merck & Co., Inc.?: Shares of MRK stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

This page (NYSE:MRK) was last updated on 2/12/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Merck & Co., Inc. MarketRank™ Stock Analysis

Overall MarketRank™

Analyst's Opinion

Short Interest

Percentage of Shares Shorted

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Change versus previous month

Dividend Strength

Sustainability and ESG

Overall ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Score

Environmental Sustainability

News and Social Media Coverage

News Sentiment

News Coverage This Week

Search Interest

MarketBeat Follows

Company Ownership

Earnings and Valuation

About Merck & Co., Inc. Stock (NYSE:MRK)

MRK Stock Price History

MRK Stock News Headlines

Company Calendar

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Price Target and Rating

Profitability

Debt

Sales & Book Value

Miscellaneous

Social Links

Key Executives

Key Competitors

Insiders & Institutions

MRK Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Overall MarketRank^™