Willis Investment Counsel Acquires 150 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,795 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.4% of Willis Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,000. Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,551,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,477,357,000 after purchasing an additional 212,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $109.73 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $277.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.08.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.