Merck & Co Dividend yield

Merck & Co is part of Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology business, which is part of Health Care industry. Merck & Co is a company from USA, and his stocks are publicly traded.

Merck & Co paid a total dividend of 5,174 million USD last year, for a market value of 198,666 millions (Market Cap 198,588 millions). Dividend per share of Merck & Co is 1.99 USD, and his stock market price 76.41 USD.

According to the chart below, where dividend yield is displayed, Merck & Co has a dividend yield of 2.60%, which is lower than the amount offered by the market average , but bigger than Health Care industry. Dividend yields are similar among companies from the same industry, so it is a positive sign for the company.

In addition, you should compare Merck & Co dividend yield with other Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology companies or firms from USA.

Merck & Co Dividend Payout

About the ability of Merck & Co to maintain his current dividend of USD 1.99 per share, an amount that accounts for 2.60%, we should study its payout ratio both on earnings and on cash-flows (see chart below). Merck & Co payout on ernings is currently 63.78%, which is higher than the market average, and companies of Health Care industry, which are 40.41% and 28.58% respectively. Both figures show that Merck & Co can have problems to keep with his present dividend yield.

The payout on earnings should be complemented with the payout on cash flow since it is this last amount the one which can be distributed to shareholders. Cash flow per share of Merck & Co is USD 2.48 per share, which is higher than the dividend per share paid by the company of USD 1.99, so the company generates enough cash to maintain his dividend in the future.

The following figure shows payout ratios over earnings and cashflow of Merck & Co, compared againt world market average, USA companies, Health Care industry and Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology sector companies.

Merck & Co Stock performance

Finally, last moth Merck & Co showed a return of -3.70% compared to a worldwide -5.60% average, and a -7.73% of Health Care firms. Over the last year, the company obtained a 35.80% versus a worldwide performance of a -11.41%. More detailed information can be seen in the following graph for USA and Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology firms.