In the latest session, Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) closed at $126.71 up 0.12% from its previous closing price of $126.56. In other words, the price has increased by $+0.15 from its previous closing price. On the day, 4696586 shares were traded.
Ratios:
For a deeper understanding of Merck & Co Inc’s stock, let’s take a closer look at its various ratios. It provided that stocks Price–to–Cash (P/C) ratio for the trailing twelve months (TTM) is standing at 44.81 whereas its Price-to-Free Cash Flow (P/FCF) for the term is 35.10. For the most recent quarter (mrq), Quick Ratio is recorded 1.00 and its Current Ratio is at 1.25. In the meantime, Its Debt-to-Equity ratio is 0.97 whereas as Long-Term Debt/Eq ratio is at 0.92.
On January 04, 2024, TD Cowen Upgraded its rating to Outperform which previously was Market Perform and also upped its target price recommendation from $125 to $135.
On November 09, 2023, Deutsche Bank started tracking the stock assigning a Buy rating and target price of $115.Deutsche Bank initiated its Buy rating on November 09, 2023, with a $115 target price.
Insider Transactions:
Additionally, insider trades can be beneficial to investors who want to learn what the management thinks about stock prices in the future. A recent insider transaction in this stock occurred on Mar 11 ’24 when Merck & Co., Inc. bought 21,397,205 shares for $23.00 per share. The transaction valued at 492,135,715 led to the insider holds 1,000 shares of the business.
Davis Robert M sold 85,021 shares of MRK for $10,661,574 on Feb 14 ’24. The Chairman, CEO & President now owns 348,327 shares after completing the transaction at $125.40 per share. On Feb 14 ’24, another insider, Litchfield Caroline, who serves as the EVP & CFO of the company, sold 38,291 shares for $125.50 each. As a result, the insider received 4,805,520 and left with 50,908 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 320.91B and an Enterprise Value of 348.87B. As of this moment, Merck’s Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio for their current fiscal year is 958.47, and their Forward P/E ratio for the next fiscal year is 12.97. The expected Price-to-Earnings-to-Growth (PEG) calculation for the next 5 years is 14.19. For the stock, the TTM Price-to-Sale (P/S) ratio is 5.36 while its Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio in mrq is 8.54. Its current Enterprise Value per Revenue stands at 5.80 whereas that against EBITDA is 50.51.
Stock Price History:
Over the past 52 weeks, MRK has reached a high of $133.10, while it has fallen to a 52-week low of $99.14. The 50-Day Moving Average of the stock is 125.84, while the 200-Day Moving Average is calculated to be 112.16.
Shares Statistics:
For the past three months, MRK has traded an average of 8.49M shares per day and 7.82M over the past ten days. A total of 2.53B shares are outstanding, with a floating share count of 2.53B. Insiders hold about 0.15% of the company’s shares, while institutions hold 78.70% stake in the company. Shares short for MRK as of Mar 28, 2024 were 19.59M with a Short Ratio of 2.73, compared to 16.6M on Feb 29, 2024. Therefore, it implies a Short% of Shares Outstanding of 0.77% and a Short% of Float of 0.77%.
Dividends & Splits
According to the company, the forward annual dividend rate for MRK is 3.00, from 2.92 in the trailing year. Against a Trailing Annual Dividend Yield of 2.31%, it implies a Forward Annual Dividend Yield of 2.43%. The stock’s 5-year Average Dividend Yield is 2.89. The current Payout Ratio is 2065.60% for MRK, which recently paid a dividend on Apr 05, 2024 with an ex-dividend date of Mar 14, 2024. Stock splits for the company last occurred on Jun 03, 2021 when the company split stock in a 1048:1000 ratio.
Earnings Estimates
There are 15 different market analysts currently analyzing its stock. On average, analysts expect EPS of $2.04 for the current quarter, with a high estimate of $2.25 and a low estimate of $1.8, while EPS last year was $1.4. The consensus estimate for the next quarter is $2.03, with high estimates of $2.35 and low estimates of $1.84.
Analysts are recommending an EPS of between $8.91 and $8.44 for the fiscal current year, implying an average EPS of $8.57. EPS for the following year is $9.78, with 21 analysts recommending between $10.5 and $9.12.
Revenue Estimates
A total of 12 analysts believe the company’s revenue will be $15.13B this quarter.It ranges from a high estimate of $15.68B to a low estimate of $14.87B. As of the current estimate, Merck & Co Inc’s year-ago sales were $13.78B, an estimated increase of 9.80% from the year-ago figure. For the next quarter, 12 analysts are estimating revenue of $15.84B, an increase of 5.40% less than the figure of $9.80% in the same quarter last year. There is a high estimate of $16.1B for the next quarter, whereas the lowest estimate is $15.34B.
A total of 22 analysts have provided revenue estimates for MRK’s current fiscal year. The highest revenue estimate was $64.98B, while the lowest revenue estimate was $62.72B, resulting in an average revenue estimate of $63.85B. In the same quarter a year ago, actual revenue was $60.12B, up 6.20% from the average estimate. Based on 21 analysts’ estimates, the company’s revenue will be $67.96B in the next fiscal year. The high estimate is $70.39B and the low estimate is $66.08B. The average revenue growth estimate for next year is up 6.40% from the average revenue estimate for this year.
