Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 1.3% - Here's Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) fell 1.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $83.25 and last traded at $84.11. 2,133,463 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 11,955,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $209.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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 share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CGN Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock worth $2,683,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. TI Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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.