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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s share price dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $99.36 and last traded at $99.92. Approximately 2,698,411 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 9,267,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

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

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.