Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 73,570 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 145% compared to the average daily volume of 30,053 put options.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
NYSE MRK traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $109.40. The company had a trading volume of 5,994,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,769,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $277.09 billion, a PE ratio of 121.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.79 and a 200-day moving average of $123.36.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.