Wills Financial Group Inc. Has $3.48 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wills Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,985 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,823 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.5% of Wills Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Wills Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company's stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the third quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,540,000 after buying an additional 14,780 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $82.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $208.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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