Vise Technologies Inc. Acquires 10,212 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $77.81 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.