Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 0.9%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) fell 0.9% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $117.36 and last traded at $117.56. 1,413,462 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 8,628,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.