Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given New $130.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective decreased by Truist Financial from $132.00 to $130.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.75 on Thursday, reaching $102.92. 9,154,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,840,381. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.60 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.37 and a 200 day moving average of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.