Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares rose 0.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $102.53 and last traded at $101.98. Approximately 1,684,386 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 8,825,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $256.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $112.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.