WFA of San Diego LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

WFA of San Diego LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,041 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Level Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Level Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% during the first quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 74.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, October 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $132.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $102.05. 908,643 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,438,537. The firm has a market cap of $258.60 billion, a PE ratio of 56.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.36 and a 12-month high of $119.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.30 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 18.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $4,602,729.69. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total value of $213,052.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,394.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $4,602,729.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 111,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.