Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 0.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Guggenheim lowered their price target on the stock from $122.00 to $115.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Merck & Co., Inc. traded as low as $84.69 and last traded at $85.43. Approximately 4,242,348 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 13,849,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.67.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MRK. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.06.

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

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

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

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. E&G Advisors LP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $216.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.