Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares were down 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $87.52 and last traded at $87.98. Approximately 1,819,490 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 10,281,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.35 and a 200 day moving average of $100.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.70%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 75.4% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 131,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,924,000 after purchasing an additional 56,495 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 385,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,802,000 after buying an additional 9,305 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 15,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 4,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. 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.