Two Sigma Advisers LP Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,887,100 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.1% of Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.19% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $486,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.9%

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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.