Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $75.93 and last traded at $76.42, with a volume of 16542324 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $196.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $87.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.