Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Rating Reiterated by Mizuho

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Mizuho in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $130.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.88% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $108.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.63 and a 12-month high of $115.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,683,000 after buying an additional 169,536 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,064,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after buying an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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.