Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Redwood Grove Capital LLC

Redwood Grove Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,668 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,958 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 4.9% of Redwood Grove Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Redwood Grove Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $73.46 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $73.32 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $184.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.