Pathstone Holdings LLC Sells 8,066 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pathstone Holdings LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 520,259 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,066 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $51,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. CGN Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MRK traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.68. 15,264,316 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,391,466. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.51. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $187.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business 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 firm earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.