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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $78.84 and last traded at $78.61. Approximately 3,338,724 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 11,514,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by insiders.

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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 14,780 shares during the last quarter. 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.