Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by EHP Funds Inc.

EHP Funds Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. EHP Funds Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. CGN Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th 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 period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth 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 period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in shares of 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 and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.5 %

MRK stock opened at $79.11 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.82. The company has a market capitalization of $199.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.