Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,968 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,381 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,872,444 shares of the company's stock worth $1,976,911,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823,283 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on 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. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $84.73. 4,163,672 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,935,302. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $86.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $213.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.