Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 0.8% – Here’s What Happened

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s share price fell 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $83.10 and last traded at $83.79. 5,671,837 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 14,084,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. TD Cowen lowered 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for 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 was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s 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 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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. E&G Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.