Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 0.7% - Still a Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $78.54 and last traded at $78.43. 1,727,727 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 11,683,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $87.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.13. The company has a market capitalization of $208.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 42,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,809,000 after purchasing an additional 16,721 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.1% during the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 12,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $852,000. Cypress Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 26,423 shares of the company's stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 15,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.