Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,484 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,618 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,377,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,097,000 after buying an additional 2,354,723 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $105,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Leslie Global Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,806,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,993,029. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.93 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $214.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day moving average is $86.86 and its 200-day moving average is $94.70.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.