Lansing Street Advisors Sells 127 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lansing Street Advisors decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $40,893,000. Alliance Wealth Management Group increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 9,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. St. Louis Trust Co raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. St. Louis Trust Co now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 38,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,092,000 after buying an additional 5,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $101.88 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $112.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.