Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Up 1.3% – Should You Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $101.79 and last traded at $101.11. 2,179,669 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 8,966,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Barclays cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $250.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $107.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.57%.

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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Boyar Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the third quarter. Boyar Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,868,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,466,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 75,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $427,000. 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.