Stock Buyback Program Announced by Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Board

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MRK opened at $98.91 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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 cap of $250.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.