Hedge Funds Cashing Out Of Merck (MRK)

MRK) and determine whether the smart money was really smart about this stock.” data-reactid=”12″>The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 823 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F filings show the funds’ and investors’ portfolio positions as of June 30th, when the S&P 500 Index was trading around the 3100 level. Stocks kept going up since then. In this article we look at how hedge funds traded Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and determine whether the smart money was really smart about this stock.

MRK) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months.Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was in 76 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of June. The all time high for this statistics is 84. There were 78 hedge funds in our database with MRK holdings at the end of March. Our calculations also showed that MRK isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q2 rankings and see the video for a quick look at the top 5 stocks). Video: Watch our video about the top 5 most popular hedge fund stocks.” data-reactid=”13″>Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months.Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was in 76 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of June. The all time high for this statistics is 84. There were 78 hedge funds in our database with MRK holdings at the end of March. Our calculations also showed that MRK isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q2 rankings and see the video for a quick look at the top 5 stocks). Video: Watch our video about the top 5 most popular hedge fund stocks.

see the details here). That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.” data-reactid=”19″>In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey’s monthly stock picks returned 101% since March 2017 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 56 percentage points. Our short strategy outperformed the S&P 500 short ETFs by 20 percentage points annually (see the details here). That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.

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David Harding of Winton Capital Management

this under-the-radar stock to identify the next tenbagger. Currently, investors are pessimistic about commercial real estate investments. So, we are checking out this contrarian play to diversify our market exposure. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. If you want to find out the best healthcare stock to buy right now, you can watch our latest hedge fund manager interview here. Keeping this in mind let’s take a glance at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK).” data-reactid=”41″>At Insider Monkey we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, legal marijuana is one of the fastest growing industries right now, so we are checking out ideas like this under-the-radar stock to identify the next tenbagger. Currently, investors are pessimistic about commercial real estate investments. So, we are checking out this contrarian play to diversify our market exposure. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. If you want to find out the best healthcare stock to buy right now, you can watch our latest hedge fund manager interview here. Keeping this in mind let’s take a glance at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK).

What have hedge funds been doing with Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)?

At the end of June, a total of 76 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -3% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards MRK over the last 20 quarters. So, let’s review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.

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Fisher Asset Management, which reported holding $703.9 million worth of stock at the end of September. It was followed by Arrowstreet Capital with a $668.8 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included D E Shaw, AQR Capital Management, and Two Sigma Advisors. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Kahn Brothers allocated the biggest weight to Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), around 12.09% of its 13F portfolio. Antipodes Partners is also relatively very bullish on the stock, dishing out 6.62 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to MRK.” data-reactid=”60″>The largest stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was held by Fisher Asset Management, which reported holding $703.9 million worth of stock at the end of September. It was followed by Arrowstreet Capital with a $668.8 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included D E Shaw, AQR Capital Management, and Two Sigma Advisors. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Kahn Brothers allocated the biggest weight to Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), around 12.09% of its 13F portfolio. Antipodes Partners is also relatively very bullish on the stock, dishing out 6.62 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to MRK.