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Merck-and-Company is a drug manufacturers-general business based in the US. Merck-and-Company stocks (MRK.US) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was $92 – an increase of 10.06% over the previous week. Merck-and-Company employs 67,000 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around $54 billion.
How to buy stocks in Merck-and-Company
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- Research the stock. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol – MRK – and research it before deciding if it's a good investment for you.
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What's in this guide?
- Can I buy shares in Merck-and-Company?
- Has coronavirus impacted Merck-and-Company shares?
- Merck-and-Company shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is Merck-and-Company stock a buy or sell?
- Merck-and-Company performance over time
- Is Merck-and-Company suitable for ethical investing?
- Are Merck-and-Company shares over-valued?
- Merck-and-Company's financials
- How volatile are Merck-and-Company shares?
- Does Merck-and-Company pay a dividend?
- Have Merck-and-Company shares ever split?
- Other common questions
Merck-and-Company stock price (NYSE:MRK)
Use our graph to track the performance of MRK stocks over time.Merck-and-Company shares at a glance
Information last updated 2022-06-21.
| Latest market close | $93.13 |
|---|---|
| 52-week range | $69.04 - $94.15 |
| 50-day moving average | $88.57 |
| 200-day moving average | $81.12 |
| Wall St. target price | $97.35 |
| PE ratio | 15.1459 |
| Dividend yield | $2.64 (3.26%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | $5.59 |
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Note: The dollar amounts in the table below are in Canadian dollars.
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Is it a good time to buy Merck-and-Company 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.
Merck-and-Company price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the close of $93.13 from 2022-06-24
| 1 week (2022-06-17) | 10.06% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2022-05-21) | N/A |
| 3 months (2022-03-23) | 16.81% |
| 6 months (2021-12-21) | 23.29% |
| 1 year (2021-06-25) | 20.63% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2020-06-25) | 21.63% |
| 3 years (2019-06-25) | 9.26% |
| 5 years (2017-06-23) | 40.87% |
Is Merck-and-Company under- or over-valued?
Valuing Merck-and-Company stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Merck-and-Company's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Merck-and-Company's P/E ratio
Merck-and-Company's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 15x. In other words, Merck-and-Company shares trade at around 15x 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-Company's PEG ratio
Merck-and-Company's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.0702. 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-Company'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-Company's EBITDA
Merck-and-Company's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is $21.9 billion.
The EBITDA is a measure of a Merck-and-Company's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
Merck-and-Company financials
| Revenue TTM | $54 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 34.33% |
| Gross profit TTM | $35.5 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 11.73% |
| Return on equity TTM | 40.93% |
| Profit margin | 26.27% |
| Book value | $16.17 |
| Market capitalisation | $214 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Merck-and-Company'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-Company.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Merck-and-Company'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-Company'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-Company 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-Company's environmental score
Environmental score: 3.15/100
Merck-and-Company'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-Company is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Merck-and-Company's social score
Social score: 15.55/100
Merck-and-Company'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-Company is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Merck-and-Company's governance score
Governance score: 12.65/100
Merck-and-Company's governance score puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Merck-and-Company is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Merck-and-Company's controversy score
Controversy score: 3/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Merck-and-Company scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Merck-and-Company hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.
Merck-and-Company share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 38.86% of net profits
Recently Merck-and-Company has paid out, on average, around 38.86% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.26% 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-Company shareholders could enjoy a 3.26% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Merck-and-Company's case, that would currently equate to about $2.64 per share.
While Merck-and-Company's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that Merck-and-Company may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.
Merck-and-Company's most recent dividend payout was on 8 July 2022. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 14 June 2022 (the "ex-dividend date").
Have Merck-and-Company's shares ever split?
Merck-and-Company's shares were split on a 1048:1000 basis on 3 June 2021. So if you had owned 1000 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 1048 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Merck-and-Company shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 4.6% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Merck-and-Company shares which in turn could have impacted Merck-and-Company's share price.
Merck-and-Company share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Merck-and-Company's shares have ranged in value from as little as $69.0396 up to $94.1495. 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-Company's is 0.368. This would suggest that Merck-and-Company's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
Merck-and-Company overview
Merck & Co. , Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers.
Frequently asked questions
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of futures, stocks, ETFs, options or any specific provider, service or offering. It should not be relied upon as investment advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks, ETFs and options trading involves substantial risk of loss and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Trading forex on leverage comes with a higher risk of losing money rapidly. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before making any trades.
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