Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 0.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $127.18 and last traded at $127.29. 1,102,873 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 8,177,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $126.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a PE ratio of 141.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.

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