Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 0.4% – What’s Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $84.71 and last traded at $83.57. Approximately 1,839,469 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 16,212,893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $209.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.33. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents 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 company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently 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.