Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Cut to $119.00 by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective reduced by Leerink Partners from $136.00 to $119.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Leerink Partners currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MRK. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.94 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $100.16 and its 200-day moving average is $110.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $255.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,231,000 after buying an additional 2,610,800 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $308,782,000 after buying an additional 2,473,346 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,924,000 after buying an additional 2,194,463 shares during 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 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.