Virtue Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Virtue Capital Management LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,209 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $988,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $2,130,000. Brick & Kyle Associates boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Brick & Kyle Associates now owns 67,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,688,000 after acquiring an additional 8,861 shares during the last quarter. Armis Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $1,273,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 963.9% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 78,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,839,000 after acquiring an additional 71,393 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

MRK stock opened at $77.59 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.