Merck & Co., Inc. Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 67,908 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 58% compared to the typical daily volume of 43,077 call options.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.7 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $216.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. 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’s fifty day moving average is $95.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.49. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 201.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 10,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,079 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the third quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 47,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 61,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,021,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently 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.