Banque de Luxembourg S.A. Acquires Shares of 2,341 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.93 and a 12-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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% 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.