Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $101.05 and last traded at $101.57. 1,516,022 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 9,117,182 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $262.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

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

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. IRON Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bennett Associates Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 1,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.