MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 298,752 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,085 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CGN Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, 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 transaction of $352,723.12. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $73.46 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.32 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.