6,119 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Bolthouse Investments LLC

Bolthouse Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,872,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,976,911,000 after buying an additional 3,823,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $84.73. 4,163,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,350,398. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.77. 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 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership 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.