Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) dropped 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $99.36 and last traded at $99.92. Approximately 2,698,411 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 9,267,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $103.09 and its 200 day moving average is $114.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $252.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IRON Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 2,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 17,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.