How to buy Merck-and-CoInc stock | $79.83

Merck & Co., Inc is a drug manufacturers-general business based in the US. Merck-and-CoInc shares (MRK) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Merck-and-CoInc employs 71,000 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$47.3 billion.

How to buy shares in Merck-and-CoInc

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Merck-and-CoInc. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: MRK. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Merck-and-CoInc reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$79.83, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Merck-and-CoInc, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Merck-and-CoInc. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

Merck-and-CoInc share price

Use our graph to track the performance of MRK stocks over time.

Merck-and-CoInc shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-01-12.

Latest market close	USD$79.83
52-week range	USD$63.7645 - USD$89.2225
50-day moving average	USD$81.2712
200-day moving average	USD$81.0837
Wall St. target price	USD$96.53
PE ratio	18.3282
Dividend yield	USD$2.6 (3.06%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$4.528

Buy Merck-and-CoInc shares from these brokerages

Compare special offers, low fees and a wide range of types of investments among top trading platforms.

Is it a good time to buy Merck-and-CoInc stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of Merck & Co., Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Merck-and-CoInc price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $79.83 from 2020-10-16

1 week (2021-01-07)	-4.99%
1 month (2020-12-17)	0.01%
3 months (2020-10-16)	79.83
6 months (2020-07-17)	-0.05%

1 year (2020-01-17)	-12.25%
2 years (2019-01-17)	5.60%
3 years (2018-01-17)	28.70%
5 years (2016-01-15)	56.10%

Is Merck-and-CoInc under- or over-valued?

Valuing Merck-and-CoInc stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Merck-and-CoInc's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Merck-and-CoInc's P/E ratio

Merck-and-CoInc's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 18x. In other words, Merck-and-CoInc shares trade at around 18x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

Merck-and-CoInc's PEG ratio

Merck-and-CoInc's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.2554. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Merck-and-CoInc's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Merck-and-CoInc's EBITDA

Merck-and-CoInc's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$19 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Merck-and-CoInc's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Merck-and-CoInc financials

Revenue TTM	USD$47.3 billion
Operating margin TTM	32.95%
Gross profit TTM	USD$33.7 billion
Return on assets TTM	11.26%
Return on equity TTM	41.06%
Profit margin	24.33%
Book value	$11.537
Market capitalisation	USD$210 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Merck-and-CoInc shares

There are currently 13.6 million Merck-and-CoInc shares held short by investors – that's known as Merck-and-CoInc's "short interest". This figure is 0.9% up from 13.5 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Merck-and-CoInc shares can be evaluated.

Merck-and-CoInc's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Merck-and-CoInc's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Merck-and-CoInc shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Merck-and-CoInc shares traded daily (recently around 8.5 million). Merck-and-CoInc's SIR currently stands at 1.59. In other words for every 100,000 Merck-and-CoInc shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1590 shares are currently held short.

However Merck-and-CoInc's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Merck-and-CoInc shares, or, against the total number of tradable Merck-and-CoInc shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Merck-and-CoInc's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Merck-and-CoInc shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0054% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Merck-and-CoInc shares, roughly 5 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Merck-and-CoInc.

Find out more about how you can short Merck-and-CoInc stock.

Merck-and-CoInc's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Merck-and-CoInc.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Merck-and-CoInc's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 28.35

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Merck-and-CoInc's overall score of 28.35 (as at 01/01/2019) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 47th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Merck-and-CoInc is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Merck-and-CoInc's environmental score

Environmental score: 3.15/100

Merck-and-CoInc's environmental score of 3.15 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Merck-and-CoInc is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Merck-and-CoInc's social score

Social score: 15.55/100

Merck-and-CoInc's social score of 15.55 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Merck-and-CoInc is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Merck-and-CoInc's governance score

Governance score: 12.65/100

Merck-and-CoInc's governance score puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Merck-and-CoInc is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Merck-and-CoInc's controversy score

Controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Merck-and-CoInc scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Merck-and-CoInc hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

Merck & Co., Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	28.35
Total ESG percentile	47.16
Environmental score	3.15
Environmental score percentile	4
Social score	15.55
Social score percentile	4
Governance score	12.65
Governance score percentile	4
Level of controversy	3

Merck-and-CoInc share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 42.98% of net profits

Recently Merck-and-CoInc has paid out, on average, around 42.98% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.06% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Merck-and-CoInc shareholders could enjoy a 3.06% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Merck-and-CoInc's case, that would currently equate to about $2.6 per share.

While Merck-and-CoInc's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that Merck-and-CoInc may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.

Merck-and-CoInc's most recent dividend payout was on 8 January 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 14 December 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Merck-and-CoInc's shares ever split?

Merck-and-CoInc's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 17 February 1999. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Merck-and-CoInc shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Merck-and-CoInc shares which in turn could have impacted Merck-and-CoInc's share price.

Merck-and-CoInc share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Merck-and-CoInc's shares have ranged in value from as little as $63.7645 up to $89.2225. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Merck-and-CoInc's is 0.4433. This would suggest that Merck-and-CoInc's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

Merck-and-CoInc overview

Merck & Co., Inc. provides healthcare solutions worldwide. The company offers therapeutic for cardiovascular, type 2 diabetes, chronic hepatitis C virus, HIV-1 infection, intra-abdominal, fungal infection, insomnia, and inflammatory diseases; neuromuscular blocking agents; cholesterol modifying medicines; and anti-bacterial and vaginal contraceptive products. It provides products to prevent chemotherapy-induced and post-operative nausea and vomiting; treat non-small-cell lung, ovarian and breast, esophageal, thyroid, cervical, and brain cancers; and prevent diseases caused by human papillomavirus, as well as vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, shingles, rotavirus gastroenteritis, and pneumococcal diseases. In addition, the company offers drugs for hepatocellular and merkel cell carcinoma; antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drugs for infectious and respiratory diseases, fertility disorders, and pneumonia in cattle, bovine, and swine; vaccines for poultry; parasiticides for sea lice in salmon; and antibiotics and vaccines for fish. Further, it provides companion animal products; diabetes mellitus treatment and anthelmintic products for dogs and cats; products to treat fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and sandflies; horse fertility management products for swine; and dog, cat, and horse vaccines. Additionally, the company offers services and solutions that focus on engagement, clinical, and health analytics. Merck & Co., Inc. has collaborations with AstraZeneca PLC; Bayer AG; Eisai Co., Ltd.; Almac Discovery Ltd.; Skyhawk Therapeutics, Inc.; Ridgeback Biotherapeutics; Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co., Ltd.; FUJIFILM Corporation; Intec Pharma Ltd.; Transcenta Holding Ltd.; and Janux Therapeutics, Inc. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Merck-and-CoInc is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.077% of Merck-and-CoInc shares are held by insiders and 75.984% by institutions.

• How many people work for Merck-and-CoInc?

  Latest data suggests 71,000 work at Merck-and-CoInc.

• When does the fiscal year end for Merck-and-CoInc?

  Merck-and-CoInc's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Merck-and-CoInc based?

  Merck-and-CoInc's address is: 2000 Galloping Hill Road, Kenilworth, NJ, United States, 07033

• What is Merck-and-CoInc's ISIN number?

  Merck-and-CoInc's international securities identification number is: DE0006599905

• What is Merck-and-CoInc's CUSIP number?

  Merck-and-CoInc's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 589331107