Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,377,437 shares of the company's stock after selling 549,238 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $137,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 548,475 shares of the company's stock worth $54,562,000 after acquiring an additional 32,108 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 15,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,255,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective 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 lowered 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction 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 $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $75.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $190.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company's fifty day moving average price is $85.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.82 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication 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.

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