Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,915 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,690 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 65,195 shares of the company's stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,996 shares in the last quarter. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $345,000. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $990,000. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 34,834 shares of the company's stock worth $3,465,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $157,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $83.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,754,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,050,241. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.93 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $86.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.22. 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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

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.