Willner & Heller LLC Makes New $863,000 Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Willner & Heller LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,331,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153,333 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,966,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,731,152 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,842 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,108,366,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,972,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,632,255,000 after buying an additional 1,696,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $129.48. The stock had a trading volume of 7,338,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,353,206. The stock has a market cap of $327.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $128.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.64.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

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.