The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.
Merck & Company Inc (MRK) is a leading drug manufacturers - general business with stocks listed in the US. It closed the previous market day at US$102.27. During the previous open market day, the price has varied from a low of USD101.52 to a high of USD103.09. Merck-and-Company is listed on the NYSE. All prices are listed in US Dollars.
How to buy shares in Merck-and-Company
- Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a company listed in the US from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. Look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
- Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, which will typically include your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
- Search for Merck-and-Company. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: MRK. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment that matches your financial goals.
- Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Merck-and-Company reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying using consistent intervals and amounts.
- Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$102.27, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Merck-and-Company, depending on your broker.
- Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Merck-and-Company. Optimise 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.
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Have Merck-and-Company's shares ever split?
Merck-and-Company's shares were split on a 1048:1000 basis on 2 June 2021. So if you had owned 1000 shares the day before the split, the next day you would own 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 shares at a glance
Information last updated 2025-12-01.
| 52-week range | US$71.8733 - US$105.84 |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | US$88.5872 |
| 200-day moving average | US$84.5035 |
| Target price | US$105.3473 |
| PE ratio | 13.4696 |
| Dividend yield | US$3.2 (3.05%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | US$7.56 |
Use the fields above to explore the returns from a historical investment. Please refer to the charts further up this page to see performance over 5 years, or other periods. Past performance doesn't indicate future results. Capital is at risk.
Merck-and-Company price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the last close of $102.27
| 1 week (2025-11-25) | -3.21% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2025-11-05) | 21.19% |
| 3 months (2025-09-05) | 20.73% |
| 6 months (2025-06-05) | 31.76% |
| 1 year (2024-12-05) | -1.24% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2023-12-04) | -2.66% |
| 3 years (2022-12-02) | -7.06% |
| 5 years (2020-12-04) | 30.80% |
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. However, this is not a recommendation. 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.
Is it worth buying Merck-and-Company stock?
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 13x. In other words, Merck-and-Company shares trade at around 13x 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 1.1042. 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 US$31.5 billion (£23.7 billion).
The EBITDA is a measure of a Merck-and-Company's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure stock profitability.
Merck-and-Company share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Merck-and-Company's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$71.8733 up to US$105.84. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta measures a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Merck-and-Company's is 0.319. This would suggest that Merck-and-Company's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
Merck-and-Company financials
| Revenue TTM | US$64.2 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 40.8% |
| Gross profit TTM | US$50 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 13.76% |
| Return on equity TTM | 39.49% |
| Profit margin | 29.63% |
| Book value | 20.845 |
| Market capitalisation | US$254.3 billion |
| EBITDA | US$31.5 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Merck-and-Company share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 37.92% of net profits
Recently Merck-and-Company has paid out, on average, around 37.92% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.34% 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 3.34% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Merck-and-Company's case, that would currently equate to about $3.2 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 7 January 2026. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 14 December 2025 (the "ex-dividend date").
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 12/31/2018) 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.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Merck & Company 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-Company overview
Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. The company offers human health pharmaceutical for various areas under the Keytruda, Welireg, Gardasil, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, Vaxneuvance, RotaTeq, Pneumovax 23, Bridion, Dificid, Zerbaxa, Noxafil, Winrevair, Adempas, Verquvo, Lagevrio, Isentress/Isentress HD, Delstrigo, Pifeltro, Belsomra, Januvia, and Janumet brands. It also provides veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services, such as livestock products under the Nuflor, Bovilis/Vista, Bovilis Cryptium, Banamine, Estrumate, Matrix, Resflor, Zuprevo, Revalor, Safe-Guard, M+Pac, Porcilis, Circumvent, Nobilis/Innovax, Paracox and Coccivac, Exzolt, Slice, Imvixa, Clynav, Aquavac/Norvax, Aquaflor, Flexolt brands; Allflex Livestock Intelligence solutions; and companion animal products under the Bravecto One-Month, Bravecto Injectable/Quantum, Bravecto Plus, Sentinel Spectrum, Sentinel Flavor Tabs, Optimmune, Nobivac NXT, GilvetMab, Otomax, Mometamax, Mometamax Ultra, Posatex, Caninsulin/Vetsulin, Panacur, Regumate, Prestige, Scalibor/Exspot, Sure Petcare, and Home Again brands. The company has development and commercialization agreement for three of Daiichi Sankyo's deruxtecan ADC candidates; AstraZeneca PLC to co-development and co-commercialize AstraZeneca's Lynparza products for multiple cancer types, and Koselugo for multiple indications; licensed to develop, manufacture and commercialize LM-299, a novel investigational PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody from LaNova; and collaboration agreement with Eisai Co., Ltd., Bayer AG, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, as well Moderna, Inc. It has a collaboration agreement with Antengene Corporation Limited to evaluate the combination of ATG-022, a CLDN18.2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, and anti-PD-1 therapy, as well as KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced solid tumors. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey.
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