First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 16,728 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,391 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,728 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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. 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 the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.88. The company had a trading volume of 15,605,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,185,772. The company has a market capitalization of $190.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.82 and a twelve 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, 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 of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.