Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 2.9% – Here’s Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s share price rose 2.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $78.34 and last traded at $78.65. Approximately 3,895,500 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 11,599,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $196.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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). 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 company posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.