Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 1.5% – What’s Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price dropped 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $87.60 and last traded at $88.44. Approximately 2,601,258 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 15,819,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.0 %

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 business has a fifty day moving average of $91.75 and a 200-day moving average of $99.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 20,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,246 shares in the last quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 50,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,791,000 after buying an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,260.6% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 381,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,356,000 after buying an additional 353,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 118,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,401,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in 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.