Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) PT Lowered to $140.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $142.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $134.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.19 on Monday, hitting $108.58. The stock had a trading volume of 8,640,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,784,264. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.37 and a 200 day moving average of $123.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.69, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 342.22%.

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

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.