Merck (MRK) Declares $0.73 Dividend
Merck said on May 23, 2023 that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share ($2.92 annualized). Previously, the company paid $0.73 per share.
Shares must be purchased before the ex-div date of June 14, 2023 to qualify for the dividend. Shareholders of record as of June 15, 2023 will receive the payment on July 10, 2023.
At the current share price of $113.27 / share, the stock's dividend yield is 2.58%.
Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 2.99%, the lowest has been 2.42%, and the highest has been 3.76%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.32 (n=237).
The current dividend yield is 1.28 standard deviations below the historical average.
Additionally, the company's dividend payout ratio is 0.57. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company's income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company's income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend - not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.
The company's 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.20%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.
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What is the Fund Sentiment?
There are 5057 funds or institutions reporting positions in Merck. This is an increase of 3 owner(s) or 0.06% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to MRK is 0.86%, an increase of 3.47%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 1.93% to 2,179,830K shares. 
The put/call ratio of MRK is 0.83, indicating a bullish outlook.
Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 11.21% Upside
As of May 11, 2023, the average one-year price target for Merck is 125.97. The forecasts range from a low of 103.02 to a high of $141.75. The average price target represents an increase of 11.21% from its latest reported closing price of 113.27.
See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.
The projected annual revenue for Merck is 58,663MM, an increase of 1.37%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is 7.63.
What are Other Shareholders Doing?
VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 77,069K shares representing 3.04% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 75,578K shares, representing an increase of 1.93%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MRK by 21.32% over the last quarter.
Wellington Management Group Llp holds 68,564K shares representing 2.70% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 62,017K shares, representing an increase of 9.55%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MRK by 85.21% over the last quarter.
VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 58,611K shares representing 2.31% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 57,427K shares, representing an increase of 2.02%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MRK by 21.14% over the last quarter.
Ofi Invest Asset Management holds 57,943K shares representing 2.28% ownership of the company.
Geode Capital Management holds 51,219K shares representing 2.02% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 48,339K shares, representing an increase of 5.62%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MRK by 6.02% over the last quarter.
Merck Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)
For 130 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases in pursuit of its mission to save and improve lives. It demonstrates its commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals - including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases - as we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world.
Key filings for this company:
This story originally appeared on Fintel.