VCI Wealth Management LLC Makes New $780,000 Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,487,472,000 after buying an additional 5,196,914 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,705 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,842 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 12,988,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,054,000 after purchasing an additional 984,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,587,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,241,000 after purchasing an additional 178,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $3.71 on Thursday, hitting $130.71. 12,747,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,343,713. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 928.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $126.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

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.