Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 0.9% – What’s Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) fell 0.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $100.56 and last traded at $100.75. 1,531,061 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 9,087,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group cut their target price on 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. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price 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 market capitalization of $254.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $105.54 and its 200 day moving average is $116.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.