Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Up 0% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) rose 0% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $95.43 and last traded at $94.76. Approximately 1,544,630 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 9,951,697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $236.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $561,000. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $874,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,560,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,238,000 after buying an additional 231,927 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 141,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,064,000 after buying an additional 5,150 shares during the period. Finally, Members Wealth LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.