Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $81.04 and last traded at $82.79, with a volume of 3690769 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $83.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.4 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.49. The stock has a market cap of $221.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.