Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 108,775 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,112 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Napatree Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,601,000 after buying an additional 8,461 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,482,000 after buying an additional 22,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 632,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,907,000 after buying an additional 10,332 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $77.59 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.76 and a 200-day moving average of $91.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.19.

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.