Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Cut to $113.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $113.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MRK. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $96.57 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.11. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $244.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $988,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 82,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,213,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 70,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,082,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.