Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 2.6% - Here's What Happened

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) was down 2.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $76.00 and last traded at $76.92. Approximately 5,025,013 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 11,323,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.50.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $88.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.39. The stock has a market cap of $199.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.