Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Cut to $115.00 by Analysts at Guggenheim

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Guggenheim from $122.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Guggenheim's target price would suggest a potential upside of 33.08% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,923,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,725,576. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.79. The stock has a market cap of $218.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.73 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,480,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,756,233 shares of the company's stock worth $174,710,000 after purchasing an additional 240,758 shares in the last quarter. Tepp RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $527,000. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $562,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $13,319,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.