Ashford Capital Management Inc. Sells 27,364 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ashford Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,345 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,364 shares during the quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $365,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 36,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,606,000 after buying an additional 3,916 shares during the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,788,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 15,288 shares of the company's stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 23,360 shares of the company's stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lowered 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE MRK traded up $0.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $77.81. 11,790,215 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,528,760. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically 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.