Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Cut to $120.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target lowered by research analysts at UBS Group from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.69% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $1.59 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,953,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,903,672. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.39 and a 200 day moving average of $111.26. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.