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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $101.50 and last traded at $100.43. 2,241,503 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 9,285,217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $248.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.