Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 1.5% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shot up 1.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $81.53 and last traded at $81.52. 2,341,742 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 12,743,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s 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 on 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 directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $4,002,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 74.7% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,428 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 82.0% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 10,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 797,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,291,000 after purchasing an additional 191,441 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.