Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Lowered to $115.00 at Citigroup

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Citigroup from $125.00 to $115.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 30.72% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $87.97 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.33 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.