Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) traded down 2.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $111.80 and last traded at $112.43. 3,630,215 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 8,640,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.20.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.
Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.5 %
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.51 billion, a PE ratio of 124.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.56.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share 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 41.67%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 3,858 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 91,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,023,000 after buying an additional 13,967 shares during the last quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 5,483 shares during the last quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 3,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
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.