DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 82.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 875,191 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,112,964 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $87,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $319,000. Sterneck Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. InvesTrust bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $891,000. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 519,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,689,000 after acquiring an additional 16,392 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Twelve research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

MRK opened at $79.09 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.91 and a 200 day moving average of $93.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $198.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.

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