Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 2.6% - Time to Sell?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) fell 2.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $80.38 and last traded at $80.67. 2,875,889 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 12,001,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $196.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.52. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock worth $5,601,000 after acquiring an additional 8,461 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 22,775 shares during the last quarter. 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.