Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $91.78 and last traded at $92.70. 2,465,856 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 9,940,903 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.94. The company has a market cap of $236.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.