Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price dropped 0.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $95.82 and last traded at $96.43. Approximately 2,005,359 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 8,903,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped 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, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $243.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $108.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,649,000 after buying an additional 62,047 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 246,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,983,000 after buying an additional 57,106 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,973,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,655,000 after acquiring an additional 150,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.