MJP Associates Inc. ADV Purchases 6,479 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 53.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,635 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,479 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 438.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,408,939 shares of the company's stock worth $339,120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,313 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,360,000. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 235,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 14,145 shares of the company's stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Lionshead Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $536,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $75.88 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $190.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.58 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $85.27 and a 200-day moving average of $93.13. 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 issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated 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 buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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