Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading 2.9% Higher – Should You Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price shot up 2.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $97.37 and last traded at $96.71. 4,153,451 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 9,960,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued 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 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.