Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 2.6% – Here’s Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price was down 2.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $76.00 and last traded at $76.92. Approximately 5,025,013 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 11,323,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $203.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

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

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $933,761,000 after buying an additional 422,382 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.