Redwood Financial Network Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,290 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Grove Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC now owns 160,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,983,000 after purchasing an additional 10,958 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $1,171,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 963.9% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 78,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after acquiring an additional 71,393 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 591,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,799,000 after acquiring an additional 89,745 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 233,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,233,000 after acquiring an additional 19,168 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.1%

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 current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.72. The stock has a market cap of $184.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, 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 repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Thirteen investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.