Wills Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wills Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 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 quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.5% of Wills Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. 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 large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $84.73. The company had a trading volume of 4,163,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,350,398. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.93 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $213.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $86.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

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.