Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $102.26 and last traded at $102.26. 1,131,406 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 8,818,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $260.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,865,948 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.