Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Cut to $106.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $113.00 to $106.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MRK. Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $89.52 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.33 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $99.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

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

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $325,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 516,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,639,000 after purchasing an additional 33,717 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.7% in the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 1,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 22,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.