Comerica Bank Sells 39,949 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Comerica Bank cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,064,968 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,949 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $105,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded down $1.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $83.30. The company had a trading volume of 10,025,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,009,594. The firm has a market cap of $210.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $86.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, 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 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 buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.