Merck & Company, Inc. ( MRK ) will begin trading ex-dividend on December 14, 2017. A cash dividend payment of $0.48 per share is scheduled to be paid on January 08, 2018. Shareholders who purchased MRK prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. This represents an 2.13% increase over prior dividend payment. At the current stock price of $57.07, the dividend yield is 3.36%.
The previous trading day's last sale of MRK was $57.07, representing a -14.57% decrease from the 52 week high of $66.80 and a 6.41% increase over the 52 week low of $53.63.
MRK is a part of the Health Care sector, which includes companies such as Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and Pfizer, Inc. ( PFE ). MRK's current earnings per share, an indicator of a company's profitability, is $1.67. Zacks Investment Research reports MRK's forecasted earnings growth in 2017 as 4.44%, compared to an industry average of 6%.
For more information on the declaration, record and payment dates, visit the MRK Dividend History page. Our Dividend Calendar has the full list of stocks that have an ex-dividend today.
Interested in gaining exposure to MRK through an Exchange Traded Fund [ETF]?
The following ETF(s) have MRK as a top-10 holding:
- iShares U.S. Pharmaceutical ETF ( IHE )
- SPDR Select Sector Fund - Health Care ( XLV )
- iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF ( IYH )
- Vanguard Health Care ETF ( VHT )
- First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III First Trust Horizon Manag ( HUSV ).
The top-performing ETF of this group is HUSV with an increase of 5.72% over the last 100 days. IHE has the highest percent weighting of MRK at 6.9%.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
