Triglav Skladi D.O.O. Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 87,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,722,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $76.08 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $191.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.