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

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,887,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.1% of Two Sigma Advisers LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.19% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $486,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $365,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 68,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,837,000 after buying an additional 18,685 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 626,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after buying an additional 13,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $76.08 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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 authorized 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.