Ethic Inc. Has $28.56 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 287,113 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,372 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Ethic Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $77.65 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $194.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. 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 stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.