Truist Financial Cuts Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target to $130.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target reduced by Truist Financial from $132.00 to $130.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock.

MRK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $102.92. The company had a trading volume of 9,208,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,553,251. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.03. 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 firm has a market cap of $260.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $98.60 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 122.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 186,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,635,000 after purchasing an additional 102,841 shares during the last quarter. Loews Corp purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $14,514,000. Finally, CNA Financial Corp acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,514,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.