Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) were down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $88.37 and last traded at $89.13. Approximately 2,461,285 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 11,021,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $225.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $91.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.