Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 4.1% – Still a Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price rose 4.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $79.72 and last traded at $79.05. Approximately 7,318,788 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 12,168,446 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.