Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Acquires 71,381 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 633.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,648 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,381 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 32,500 shares of the company's stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 177,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,644,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 16,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.09. 12,214,548 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,100,723. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $86.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.93 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

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.