Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Here’s What Happened

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) dropped 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $100.52 and last traded at $101.06. Approximately 1,608,212 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,828,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $257.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.00 and a 200 day moving average of $120.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd 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. 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.