Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Posted by on Jul 5th, 2026

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $131.8333.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock.

Read Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after acquiring an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $129.34 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $117.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.36. The company has a market capitalization of $319.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $130.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.

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Analyst Recommendations for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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