Orbimed Advisors LLC Has $82.56 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Orbimed Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 36.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 829,900 shares of the company's stock after selling 486,100 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.8% of Orbimed Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Orbimed Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $82,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 118,102 shares of the company's stock worth $11,749,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. NDVR Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 298,752 shares of the company's stock worth $29,720,000 after buying an additional 36,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 18,635 shares of the company's stock worth $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 6,479 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 5.7%

MRK opened at $80.28 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.82 and a twelve month high of $134.63. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $85.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.97. The firm has a market cap of $201.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.

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