Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $108.59 and last traded at $109.21. 9,337,934 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 13,142,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $103.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.00. The company has a market cap of $268.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 54.0% in the second quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.8% during the second quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the second quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.