Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, drug behemoth Merck (MRK -0.11%) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Merck and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Merck facts
|
Headquarters (founded) |
Whitehouse Station, N.J. (1891) |
|
Market Cap |
$141.0 billion |
|
Industry |
Pharmaceuticals |
|
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$46.2 billion |
|
Management |
Chairman/CEO Kenneth Frazier |
|
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) |
8.7% |
|
Cash/Debt |
$16.0 billion / $20.8 billion |
|
Dividend Yield |
3.7% |
|
Competitors |
GlaxoSmithKline |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 93% of the 2,924 members who have rated Merck believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Just last week, one of those Fools, PrInAl, succinctly summed up the Merck bull case for our community:
The pharmacy business is not going anyplace. The company has opportunely announced an enormous buyback plan, recently including $5B worth of stock from Goldman Sachs. ... Downside is protected somewhat by a dividend yield closer to 4% than 3%. Merck has to deal with patent expirations on products, but so do all its competitors. Its pipeline is robust, however.
