Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $91.78 and last traded at $92.70. 2,465,856 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 9,940,903 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $236.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,718,000. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 16,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. American Investment Services Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. American Investment Services Inc. now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares during the period. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $613,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $373,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.