Wisconsin Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wisconsin Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,754 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MRK opened at $101.65 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.60 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $111.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.47. The firm has a market cap of $257.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share 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.