Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 116,094 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 425,018 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,094 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.4% of Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $42,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,024,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,468,000 after acquiring an additional 14,163 shares during the last quarter. Elefante Mark B acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $338,000. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 287,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,562,000 after purchasing an additional 25,372 shares during the last quarter. Family Management Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Family Management Corp now owns 38,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC now owns 14,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.13.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $75.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.27 and its 200-day moving average is $93.31. 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 12-month low of $75.82 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $190.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.