Connors Investor Services Inc. Has $11.24 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,992 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,322 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,252,000. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Randolph Co Inc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Randolph Co Inc now owns 206,070 shares of the company's stock worth $20,500,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,400.5% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 441,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,935,000 after buying an additional 412,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,377,752 shares of the company's stock worth $533,097,000 after buying an additional 2,354,723 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,754,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,026,925. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.93 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $209.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.70 and a 200 day moving average of $94.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast 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 initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm'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 sale, 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 position. 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 recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

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.