Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $79.30 and last traded at $79.85, with a volume of 2318780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.47.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective 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. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut 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, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.50.
View Our Latest Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
The firm has a market capitalization of $199.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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's fifty day moving average is $88.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.64.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.
Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 buying an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after buying an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
(
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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.
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