Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $101.38 and last traded at $101.44. Approximately 1,641,191 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 8,823,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.92.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.86.
Read Our Latest Research Report on MRK
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
The stock has a market cap of $255.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 122.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 186,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,635,000 after acquiring an additional 102,841 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,594 shares of the company's stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $375,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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