Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Lowered to $136.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $150.00 to $136.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $101.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $258.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $112.00 and a 200 day moving average of $120.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Envision Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $222,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 165,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,817,000 after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 16,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,208,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the period. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the first quarter. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.