483,863 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 483,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,125,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.3% of Sapient Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,345,000 after acquiring an additional 24,787 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $166,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,774,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, Bordeaux Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Bordeaux Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 1,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $127.51. The stock had a trading volume of 6,221,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a PE ratio of 141.68, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $126.45 and a 200 day moving average of $116.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 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 business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% 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 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.