Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 0.1% - What's Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) fell 0.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $88.37 and last traded at $89.13. 2,461,285 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 11,021,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup decreased 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.12.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $218.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a PEG 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 current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 511 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,670,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.5% during the third quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 28,349 shares of the company's stock worth $3,219,000 after acquiring an additional 7,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 29,777 shares of the company's stock worth $3,381,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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.