Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) fell 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $77.20 and last traded at $77.86. 3,100,289 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 16,153,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners decreased 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. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.8 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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 data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,540,000 after acquiring an additional 14,780 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.