Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 1.5% - Here's What Happened

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report)'s share 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 were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 15,819,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price 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. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.12.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $219.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $91.39 and a 200-day moving average of $99.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company's stock worth $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company's stock worth $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.