Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Cut to $140.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $142.00 to $140.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $109.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $114.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.