New England Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

New England Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,280 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,075 shares during the quarter. New England Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 298,752 shares of the company's stock worth $29,720,000 after buying an additional 36,085 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 18,635 shares of the company's stock worth $1,854,000 after buying an additional 6,479 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 438.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,408,939 shares of the company's stock worth $339,120,000 after buying an additional 2,775,313 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $207,360,000. Finally, Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 235,734 shares of the company's stock worth $23,451,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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 equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Insider Transactions 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 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 owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 5.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $80.28 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $85.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.97. 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 stock has a market cap of $201.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.82 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback 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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