Suvretta Capital Management LLC Invests $5.27 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Suvretta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 53,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,272,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,916.3% in the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,905,000 after acquiring an additional 38,872 shares during the last quarter. Sentinus LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 3,529 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Security National Bank of SO Dak lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 2,322 shares of the company's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $293,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,375,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,828,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,313 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4%

MRK stock traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.89. 11,870,633 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,474,284. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, 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 share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership 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.