Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Invests $33.19 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 333,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,185,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.5% of Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. CGN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,683,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock worth $1,973,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $84.82. 3,734,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,933,477. 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. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $213.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management 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.