Dark Forest Capital Management LP Sells 3,828 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 60.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,460 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,828 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during 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 buying an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $84.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $86.94 and a 200 day moving average of $94.77. 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. has a twelve month low of $75.93 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.