Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) PT Raised to $143.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target boosted by Truist Financial from $142.00 to $143.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $130.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a market cap of $329.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.