Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Up 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) were up 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $90.97 and last traded at $90.43. Approximately 2,308,474 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 15,061,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.93 and a 200 day moving average of $103.68. 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 company has a market cap of $229.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 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, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,072,582,000 after buying an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. 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.