Morgan Stanley Cuts Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target to $98.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $99.00 to $98.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.92% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $84.54. 6,026,664 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,230,130. The stock has a market cap of $212.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $79.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 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.

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