Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Citigroup from $130.00 to $125.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 27.57% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $247.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $325,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 312,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,657,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174 shares during the period. Invst LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% during the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,611,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.