Investors on the quest for market-beating returns often employ the strategy of stock picking. Making informed choices in stocks can greatly amplify your wealth.
After finishing at $79.18 in the prior trading day, Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) closed at $79.17, down -0.01%. In other words, the price has decreased by -$0.01 from its previous closing price. On the day, 15.79 million shares were traded. MRK stock price reached its highest trading level at $80.01 during the session, while it also had its lowest trading level at $78.36.
Ratios:
Our goal is to gain a better understanding of MRK by taking a closer look at its different ratios. It provided that stocks Price–to–Cash (P/C) ratio for the trailing twelve months (TTM) is standing at 14.53 whereas its Price-to-Free Cash Flow (P/FCF) for the term is 11.05. For the most recent quarter (mrq), Quick Ratio is recorded 1.15 and its Current Ratio is at 1.36. In the meantime, Its Debt-to-Equity ratio is 0.83 whereas as Long-Term Debt/Eq ratio is at 0.76.
Upgrades & Downgrades
In addition, analysts’ ratings and any changes thereto give investors an idea of the stock’s future direction. In the most recent recommendation for the company, Deutsche Bank on February 18, 2025, Downgraded its rating to Hold and sets its target price to $105 from $128 previously.
On February 10, 2025, TD Cowen Downgraded its rating to Hold which previously was Buy and also lowered its target price recommendation from $121 to $100.
Truist Downgraded its Buy to Hold on January 08, 2025, while the target price for the stock was maintained at $110.
Insider Transactions:
The insider trade also gives investors a glimpse into the future direction of stock prices, which can be beneficial to investors. A recent insider transaction in this stock occurred on Feb 19 ’25 when Oosthuizen Johannes Jacobus sold 8,500 shares for $84.09 per share. The transaction valued at 714,745 led to the insider holds 30,705 shares of the business.
JOHANNES JACOBUS OOSTHUIZEN bought 8,500 shares of MRK for $714,745 on Feb 19 ’25. On Feb 13 ’25, another insider, DAVID WILLIAMS, who serves as the Officer of the company, bought 6,000 shares for $85.34 each.
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 199247921152 and an Enterprise Value of 224626294784. As of this moment, Merck’s Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio for their current fiscal year is 11.76, and their Forward P/E ratio for the next fiscal year is 8.04. The expected Price-to-Earnings-to-Growth (PEG) calculation for the next 5 years is 0.94. For the stock, the TTM Price-to-Sale (P/S) ratio is 3.13 while its Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio in mrq is 4.32. Its current Enterprise Value per Revenue stands at 3.501 whereas that against EBITDA is 7.71.
Stock Price History:
The Beta on a monthly basis for MRK is 0.48, which has changed by -0.3669439 over the last 52 weeks, in comparison to a change of 0.07019031 over the same period for the S&P500. Over the past 52 weeks, MRK has reached a high of $134.63, while it has fallen to a 52-week low of $75.96. The 50-Day Moving Average of the stock is -11.01%, while the 200-Day Moving Average is calculated to be -24.15%.
Shares Statistics:
The stock has traded on average 17.07M shares per day over the past 3-months and 18169260 shares per day over the last 10 days, according to various share statistics. A total of 2.53B shares are outstanding, with a floating share count of 2.51B. Insiders hold about 0.09% of the company’s shares, while institutions hold 80.56% stake in the company. Shares short for MRK as of 1743379200 were 37936527 with a Short Ratio of 2.22, compared to 1740700800 on 40943400. Therefore, it implies a Short% of Shares Outstanding of 37936527 and a Short% of Float of 1.5.
Dividends & Splits
In the trailing 12 months, MRK’s forward annual dividend rate was 3.08, compared to 3.16 this year. Against a Trailing Annual Dividend Yield of 0.03889871The stock’s 5-year Average Dividend Yield is 2.94. The current Payout Ratio is 46.32% for MRK, which recently paid a dividend on 2025-03-17 with an ex-dividend date of 1742169600. Stock splits for the company last occurred on 2021-06-03 when the company split stock in a 1048:1000 ratio.
