Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Has $18.77 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,293 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.4% of Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,372,000 after buying an additional 114,080 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,402,000 after buying an additional 64,996 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,201,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $767,965,000 after acquiring an additional 431,074 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $100.72 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $98.60 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.37 and a 200-day moving average of $120.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.93.

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.