Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded up 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $106.62 and last traded at $106.4840. 9,990,158 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 13,521,989 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.36 and a 200 day moving average of $88.01. The company has a market cap of $264.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.