Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC Has $1.03 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 51.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,339 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $83.14. The stock had a trading volume of 11,754,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,050,241. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $86.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $209.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.