Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Up 1.7% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shot up 1.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $79.49 and last traded at $78.98. 2,049,037 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 12,652,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50-day moving average is $79.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during 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%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business'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 transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock worth $5,601,000 after buying an additional 8,461 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock worth $4,482,000 after acquiring an additional 22,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 632,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,907,000 after acquiring an additional 10,332 shares during the period. 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.