Brokerages Set Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target at $111.13

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $111.13.

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $83.30 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.93 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CGN Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 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.