Forum Financial Management LP Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 31.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,205 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,612 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company'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 value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $77.59 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $81.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

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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