Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Cuts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,894 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $74.68 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.51. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was 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 $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.