Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stake Reduced by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,837 shares of the company's stock after selling 69,345 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company's stock worth $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock worth $5,601,000 after acquiring an additional 8,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 22,775 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.67. 4,741,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,498,675. The company has a market capitalization of $195.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The business's 50 day moving average price is $82.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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 on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.