Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 3.4% - Should You Sell?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $76.77 and last traded at $77.68. 6,449,918 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 12,206,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $84.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.72. 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 company has a market cap of $186.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CGN Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised 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 worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.