Analysts Set Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target at $108.69

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $108.69.

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.72. The company had a trading volume of 10,367,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,206,694. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 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.