Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Cut by Ellevest Inc.

Ellevest Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,146 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,501 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,349,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,242,000 after purchasing an additional 20,870 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 19,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 424.3% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 7,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 5,668 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9 %

MRK stock opened at $77.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.