Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $87.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $222.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.33 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.