Vicus Capital Has $751,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vicus Capital lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 26.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,431 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,865,948 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $724,776,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $106.36. The stock had a trading volume of 3,806,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,758,332. The business’s 50 day moving average is $114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $269.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.