Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Up 0.4% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shot up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $80.20 and last traded at $79.29. 4,858,509 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 11,716,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $87.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.72. The stock has a market cap of $199.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company's stock worth $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth 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 period. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during 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 position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by 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.

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