3,749 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Purchased by Park Square Financial Group LLC

Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:MRK opened at $77.59 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.43 and a 200 day moving average of $91.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.