7,868 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Carnegie Lake Advisors cut its Merck stake by 85.8% in the third quarter, selling 7,868 shares and ending with 1,305 shares valued at about $190,000.
• Despite the sale, several major institutional investors increased their holdings; institutions and hedge funds collectively own 76.07% of Merck shares.
• Merck beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $2.49 and revenue of $18.09 billion, up 4.7% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $155.74.

Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 85.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,305 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,868 shares during the period. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company's stock worth $15,573,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,583 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company's stock worth $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company's stock worth $3,701,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company's stock worth $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. TD Cowen raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $146.90 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.44, a PEG ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.63. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.24 and a 12 month high of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares in the company, valued at $4,942,755. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 114,851 shares of company stock valued at $15,300,182 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company's research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine.

Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.