Ethic Inc. Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 287,113 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,372 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Ethic Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,601,000 after acquiring an additional 8,461 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,482,000 after acquiring an additional 22,775 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $77.65 on Friday. 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 cap of $194.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $85.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.13.

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.