Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $117.06.

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price 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, February 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $85.71 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.79. The company has a market capitalization of $216.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.61 and a 1 year high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 7,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,525,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.