Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Broker increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $146.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $362.14 billion, a PE ratio of 151.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.63. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.24 and a 1 year high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 114,851 shares of company stock valued at $15,300,182 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,470,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,578,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,931,000 after purchasing an additional 51,393 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 99,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,073,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,403,000 after purchasing an additional 227,589 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,184,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,577,000 after purchasing an additional 402,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine.

Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.