Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given New $120.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target decreased by research analysts at UBS Group from $125.00 to $120.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.69% from the stock’s current price.

MRK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.43. 1,953,747 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,903,672. The company has a market cap of $251.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.26. 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 one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC grew 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 worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.