Two Sigma Advisers LP Has $486.17 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,887,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.1% of Two Sigma Advisers LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $486,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a 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 report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $76.08 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.46 and a 200-day moving average of $92.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $191.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

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 owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.