Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 0.9% – Time to Sell?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s share price was down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $92.86 and last traded at $93.91. Approximately 2,349,578 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 10,066,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $236.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $93.66 and its 200 day moving average is $102.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 2,933 shares in the company, 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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tradewinds LLC. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 11,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TI Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.