Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,112,341 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,911 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $110,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TI Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,609 shares of the company's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $77.74. The company had a trading volume of 4,223,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,538,688. The firm has a market cap of $195.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management 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.