Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 2.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) were up 2.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $78.34 and last traded at $78.65. Approximately 3,895,500 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 11,599,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’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 firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wendell David Associates Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 54,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 52,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,748,000 after purchasing an additional 10,216 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.2% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 34,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Finally, Lesa Sroufe & Co purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $458,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.