Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Lowered to $115.00 at Citigroup

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $125.00 to $115.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 26.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MRK. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 8.8 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $90.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $230.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.33 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

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

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

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.