Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by GTS Securities LLC

GTS Securities LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 40.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,240 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,674 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TI Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,978,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,137,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $77.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.83 billion, a PE 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 current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.46. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

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 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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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