Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 2.9% - Time to Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $78.34 and last traded at $78.65. Approximately 3,895,500 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 11,599,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $196.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. 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. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently 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.