At a glance
On the whole, the performance of Merck shares in 2021 was characterized by a strong increase in value. Merck shares developed broadly in line with the relevant pharmaceutical industry index in the first half of the year. Starting from the end of June, Merck shares significantly outperformed the MSCI European Pharma Index as well as the DAX® and the relevant reference index for the chemical industry.
Following a correction in September that affected the S&P 500 Life Sciences Tools & Services Index to a similar extent, the shares again performed substantially better than all the relevant reference indices in October, November, and December.
With its share price rising by around 62% across the year as a whole, Merck clearly outperformed the DAX®, which closed on December 31 approximately 16% higher than at the start of the year. Merck shares also closed 2021 up on the other relevant reference indices, which saw differing development over the course of the year.
The shares significantly outperformed the relevant reference index for the chemical industry, which saw full-year growth of around 23%. The pharmaceutical industry index rose by around 20% in 2021, meaning it was outperformed by Merck shares by 42 percentage points in the same period. Although the S&P 500 Life Sciences Tools & Services Index saw strong growth of around 39%, it was still bettered by the performance of Merck shares at around 62%.
The extremely strong share price development compared with the indices was attributable to the considerable boost provided by products and services in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in Life Science, as well as the excellent underlying financial performance in fiscal 2021.
Despite the restrictions that remained in place in 2021, the Merck Executive Board and the Investor Relations team gave in-depth briefings in largely virtual form to more than 1,000 investors at investor conferences, as well as during roadshows and conference calls.
At approximately 346,000 shares per day, the average daily trading volume of Merck shares was down around 39% on the previous year, a development that should be viewed in light of the sharp rise in the share price. Europe accounted for the largest proportion of the free float in 2021, with its share remaining essentially unchanged at 48%. By investor type, growth investors and value investors dominated, as in the previous year. In 2021, the proportion of growth investors at Merck increased slightly year-on-year to around 36% of the free float. The top five investors held around 22% of the free float at the end of 2021, down around two percentage points on the previous year.
Merck shares
Share price development from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, in %
Key share price data1 |
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2021 |
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2020 |
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Dividend2 |
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€ |
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1.85 |
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1.40 |
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Share price high |
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€ |
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229.40 |
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140.35 |
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Share price low |
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€ |
|
130.10 |
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81.26 |
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Year-end share price |
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€ |
|
227.00 |
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140.35 |
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Daily average number of Merck shares traded3 |
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Number |
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346,230 |
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566,911 |
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Market capitalization4 (at year-end) |
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€ million |
|
98,695 |
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61,021 |
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Market value of authorized shares5 (at year-end) |
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€ million |
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29,338 |
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18,139 |
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Merck shares
Dividend development since 2021
* 2021 dividend subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting.
Identified investors by region as of November 2021
Identified investors by type as of November 2021
