Wisconsin Capital Management LLC Has $1.79 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wisconsin Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,250 shares during the period. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $3.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $130.71. The stock had a trading volume of 12,747,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,343,713. The firm has a market cap of $331.09 billion, a PE ratio of 933.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current 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.