Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $81.04 and last traded at $82.79, with a volume of 3690769 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $96.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.