Merck & Co., Inc. Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 177,669 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 341% compared to the typical volume of 40,313 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $1.32 on Thursday, hitting $84.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,375,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,421,404. The company has a market capitalization of $213.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barr E S & Co. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Barr E S & Co. now owns 8,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after acquiring an additional 4,444 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 37,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 27,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 7,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 195 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.