Redwood Grove Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Redwood Grove Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 160,668 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,958 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 4.9% of Redwood Grove Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Redwood Grove Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 98,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,755,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,087.8% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 10,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 9,938 shares in the last quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 20,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $73.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $184.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $84.24 and its 200-day moving average is $92.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.32 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.