Royal Bank of Canada Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,375,974 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,742,313 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.73% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $1,828,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company's stock worth $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,601,000 after purchasing an additional 8,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 22,775 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $77.16. The company had a trading volume of 11,677,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,443,082. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.17. 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 $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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.