Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Purchases 3,425 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,734 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the 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 2.3%

MRK stock opened at $75.88 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.70 and a 1-year high of $134.63. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $85.27 and its 200 day moving average is $93.13. The stock has a market cap of $190.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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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