Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Has $1.52 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.6% of Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.75 on Friday, hitting $127.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,221,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.75. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.