Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Up 2.2% – Here’s Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price rose 2.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $89.31 and last traded at $89.56. Approximately 2,766,673 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 10,273,658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on 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. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $225.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.