Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Gap Down to $117.84

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $117.84, but opened at $113.15. Merck & Co., Inc. shares last traded at $115.25, with a volume of 1,718,526 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.93, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $119.93 and its 200 day moving average is $125.05.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,256,000. Creekside Partners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $254,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $267,000. Souders Financial Advisors grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 9,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 153.7% in the 2nd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 7,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.