Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Rating Lowered to Hold at Daiwa America

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was downgraded by analysts at Daiwa America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.54 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $249.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.50 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings 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 worth $308,782,000 after buying an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.