Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,377,437 shares of the company's stock after selling 549,238 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $137,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $73.85. 1,385,197 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,318,848. The firm has a market cap of $185.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.32 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $84.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.72.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.