Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Principal Street Partners LLC

Principal Street Partners LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,607 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,841 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.81. The stock had a trading volume of 11,790,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,528,760. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $195.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Bank of America lowered their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.