Merck & Co., Inc. Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 82,320 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 77% compared to the average volume of 46,456 call options.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE MRK opened at $94.72 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.57 and a 200-day moving average of $101.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid 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 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.