Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 98.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,861 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $76.08 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $191.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.