In the journey to outperform the market, investors delve into the art of stock selection. Choosing the right stocks can be a powerful driver for wealth accumulation.
The price of Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) closed at $84.99 in the last session, down -0.38% from day before closing price of $85.31. In other words, the price has decreased by -$0.38 from its previous closing price. On the day, 14.06 million shares were traded. MRK stock price reached its highest trading level at $85.59 during the session, while it also had its lowest trading level at $84.665.
Ratios:
We take a closer look at MRK’s different ratios to gain a better understanding of the stock. It provided that stocks Price–to–Cash (P/C) ratio for the trailing twelve months (TTM) is standing at 24.50 whereas its Price-to-Free Cash Flow (P/FCF) for the term is 14.42. For the most recent quarter (mrq), Quick Ratio is recorded 1.17 and its Current Ratio is at 1.42. In the meantime, Its Debt-to-Equity ratio is 0.72 whereas as Long-Term Debt/Eq ratio is at 0.69.
On April 22, 2025, Cantor Fitzgerald started tracking the stock assigning a Neutral rating and target price of $85.
Deutsche Bank Downgraded its Buy to Hold on February 18, 2025, whereas the target price for the stock was revised from $128 to $105.
Insider Transactions:
An investor can also benefit from insider trades by learning what management is thinking about the future direction of stock prices. A recent insider transaction in this stock occurred on Apr 25 ’25 when Smart Dalton E. III sold 4,262 shares for $82.76 per share. The transaction valued at 352,723 led to the insider holds 7,778 shares of the business.
DALTON SMART bought 4,262 shares of MRK for $352,723 on Apr 25 ’25. On Feb 19 ’25, another insider, Oosthuizen Johannes Jacobus, who serves as the President, U.S. Market of the company, sold 8,500 shares for $84.09 each. As a result, the insider received 714,745 and left with 30,705 shares of the company.
Valuation Measures:
Investors should consider key stock statistics when deciding whether to invest or divest. In the wake of the recent closing price, MRK now has a Market Capitalization of 212286308352 and an Enterprise Value of 239133589504. As of this moment, Merck’s Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio for their current fiscal year is 13.10, and their Forward P/E ratio for the next fiscal year is 8.82. The expected Price-to-Earnings-to-Growth (PEG) calculation for the next 5 years is 1.17. For the stock, the TTM Price-to-Sale (P/S) ratio is 3.35 while its Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio in mrq is 4.34. Its current Enterprise Value per Revenue stands at 3.759 whereas that against EBITDA is 8.441.
Stock Price History:
The Beta on a monthly basis for MRK is 0.38, which has changed by -0.27606475 over the last 52 weeks, in comparison to a change of 0.15624678 over the same period for the S&P500. Over the past 52 weeks, MRK has reached a high of $120.30, while it has fallen to a 52-week low of $73.31. The 50-Day Moving Average of the stock is 3.88%, while the 200-Day Moving Average is calculated to be -3.59%.
Shares Statistics:
According to the various share statistics, MRK traded on average about 14.11M shares per day over the past 3-months and 11257480 shares per day over the past 10 days. A total of 2.50B shares are outstanding, with a floating share count of 2.50B. Insiders hold about 0.10% of the company’s shares, while institutions hold 80.05% stake in the company. Shares short for MRK as of 1755216000 were 25529478 with a Short Ratio of 1.83, compared to 1752537600 on 28773023. Therefore, it implies a Short% of Shares Outstanding of 25529478 and a Short% of Float of 1.1400000000000001.
Dividends & Splits
The forward annual dividend rate for MRK is 3.20, which was 3.16 in the trailing 12 months. Against a Trailing Annual Dividend Yield of 0.03704138The stock’s 5-year Average Dividend Yield is 3.01. The current Payout Ratio is 46.32% for MRK, which recently paid a dividend on 2025-06-16 with an ex-dividend date of 2025-09-15. Stock splits for the company last occurred on 2021-06-03 when the company split stock in a 1048:1000 ratio.
