Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Lowered to $96.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $87.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.12 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $99.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,125,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,002,052,000 after buying an additional 1,317,878 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.