BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 62,801 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 485,408 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 62,801 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $48,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.9%

MRK opened at $77.92 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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