Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $100.52 and last traded at $101.06. Approximately 1,608,212 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,828,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $255.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company 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 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is 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.