Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Up 2.2% - What's Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shares shot up 2.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $79.14 and last traded at $78.86. 3,257,851 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 15,913,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $194.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.21.

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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 74.7% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,736 shares of the company's stock worth $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,428 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 82.0% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,201 shares of the company's stock worth $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 10,001 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 797,908 shares of the company's stock worth $71,291,000 after purchasing an additional 191,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 41,890 shares of the company's stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 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.