Waverly Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 47.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,718 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 45,926 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $77.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $193.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

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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