BNP Paribas Has $32.83 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BNP Paribas boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,673 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,911 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.4% of BNP Paribas' holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. BNP Paribas' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $32,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $3.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $79.11. 16,252,062 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,078,543. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50-day moving average is $86.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.93. 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. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. StockNews.com cut 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 target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

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.