Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) was upgraded by equities researchers at Credit Suisse Group AG from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $73.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $62.00.
Shares of Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) traded up 10.41% during trading on Friday, reaching $63.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 72,875,999 shares. The company has a market cap of $176.77 billion and a PE ratio of 35.03. Merck & Co. has a 52-week low of $45.69 and a 52-week high of $64.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $58.24 and its 200 day moving average is $54.69.
Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business earned $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.79 billion. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co. will post $3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 13th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%.
Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. Jefferies Group upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co. from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. Leerink Swann reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co. in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. Vetr raised shares of Merck & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $62.26 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 4th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Merck & Co. in a research note on Thursday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Merck & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of €61.82 ($68.69).
In related news, insider Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 30,000 shares of Merck & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of €57.49 ($63.88), for a total transaction of €1,724,700.00 ($1,916,333.33). Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 162,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately €9,322,060.99 ($10,357,845.54). The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Clark Golestani sold 39,877 shares of Merck & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of €54.79 ($60.88), for a total transaction of €2,184,860.83 ($2,427,623.14). Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at €935,977.57 ($1,039,975.08). The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Several hedge funds and institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Americafirst Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co. during the second quarter valued at $115,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co. by 14.2% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. First New York Securities LLC NY bought a new stake in Merck & Co. during the second quarter valued at $121,000. Lowe fs LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co. by 1.8% in the second quarter. Lowe fs LLC now owns 2,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors increased its stake in Merck & Co. by 3.1% in the second quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 3,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter.
Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company. The Company offers health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, which it markets directly and through its joint ventures. It operates through one segment, Pharmaceutical. The Company's Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products marketed either directly by the Company or through joint ventures.