Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.19.

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $77.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $81.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $365,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the company's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 368,419 shares of the company's stock worth $36,650,000 after acquiring an additional 14,855 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 13,976 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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