Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,928,829 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,104 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.08% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $191,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.92. 13,256,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,476,693. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $82.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.