Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $86.60, but opened at $88.73. Merck & Co., Inc. shares last traded at $86.76, with a volume of 1,390,633 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.12.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.91. The company has a market capitalization of $204.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.