Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Insider Selling

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $86.93 and last traded at $87.45, with a volume of 1501446 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.28.

Specifically, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday. Bank of America decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $220.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.72 and a 200 day moving average of $106.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 5,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 1,582,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,407,000 after acquiring an additional 112,828 shares during the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 803,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,965,000 after acquiring an additional 77,537 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,848,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,917,000 after acquiring an additional 272,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.