Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by London Co. of Virginia

London Co. of Virginia cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,167,012 shares of the company's stock after selling 161,330 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia owned about 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $215,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald began 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 target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $75.88 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $85.27 and its 200-day moving average is $93.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.81 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% 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.

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