Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 1% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) dropped 1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $78.06 and last traded at $79.08. Approximately 3,587,412 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 11,799,584 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on 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. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $208.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company'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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. 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.