Capital Advantage Inc. Purchases Shares of 9,527 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Capital Advantage Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company's stock worth $933,761,000 after acquiring an additional 422,382 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 32,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 177,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 16,347 shares of the company's stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction 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 $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:MRK traded down $1.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.88. 15,605,903 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,148,165. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.83 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $85.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.52. The company has a market capitalization of $190.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.